Recently I spoke at a ladies banquet at my home church. This was a really exciting opportunity for me. I am part of the 2% of the population that is not terrified of public speaking. Actually, I quite enjoy it. My favorite thing to talk about is Jesus, what He has done, what He is doing and what He can do. I love those times when I am studying something and am able to share it with someone. It is absolutely exhilarating to have the opportunity to share truth and the way of salvation with someone, to be able to give someone something that can change their life!
The theme of the evening was from Isaiah 43:2a “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:” When I was asked to do it and told the theme, I was immediately excited. With this theme verse so many thoughts came to my mind: Moses crossing the Red Sea, Jesus calming the storm or walking on the water. The idea I liked the best and was most excited about was to go through the Bible and find women that had overcome storms in their lives. I thought of the woman with the issue of blood and how she overcame health issues. I thought of Esther and how she had the fate of an entire people resting on her decision to go before the king unannounced. What a burden to have so many people depending on you. I thought about all the Moms with children depending on them and how every decision they make matters. Or the child caring for a sick or elderly parent or sibling. I thought of teachers, pastors, Sunday School teachers, etc. Or what about the woman whose debt was due and the collectors were coming to take her children? There are so many women throughout the Bible that have faced tremendous storms. Storms similar to those you and I face today. I was honestly excited to study this out and thought every woman in attendance would be able to relate to at least one of the characters, no matter the age, time of life or circumstance.
And the common denominator of all these women? They were delivered by God. Although the red letters in the Bible are only in the New Testament, Jesus is found throughout the Bible. The attributes of God are consistent though He may answer prayers and deliver in different ways.
Jesus is with us in the midst of our storms!!
No matter what we may face, He is there. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is faithful, even when we are not!
To drive this home during my talk, I wanted to paint a stormy picture with Jesus in the midst. I am not a great painter but I thought my talent would be sufficient. I wanted to do a trial run though to be sure my idea would work and the painting wouldn’t totally embarrass me. It ended up like this:
Not too bad so I was excited about what I felt God was leading me to share.
As time went on and the date of the banquet drew closer I began to get a little nervous. I had been studying a lot and had lots of ideas. I loved the idea of the women going through the storm, I also found a passage by David that I thought I may speak from, but try as I may I could not find peace about any of it. I called a dear mentor and had her pray with me. I knew she continued to pray after our call and for a couple of days I waited on the Lord. On the Tuesday night before the banquet I was able to get really alone with God and cried out to Him, partially in desperation but also with confidence knowing that He would provide my need. It looked something like this, “Lord, my desire is that you would speak to each individual at the banquet. You know their needs, their desires and their fears. Reach them where they are. Give me the words to say. If you chose to wait until Saturday morning to speak to me I will trust you but if it pleases you, can you give me a little tonight.” My patience still has room to grow. Thankfully, God’s patience is complete and He loves me as I grow.
I sat down at the keyboard and started typing. I felt His presence in a mighty way. Even though I was interrupted several times and feared the “flow,” so to speak, would stop. It did not. He waited on me and spoke to me. At midnight I stopped and went to bed having about 3/4 of my talk done and a Spanish final early the next morning. Wednesday night when I sat down with the hopes of finishing the talk, it wouldn’t come. I prayed and tried to read my Bible, tried to read what I had written the night before and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I decided I needed to do my painting. I grabbed my stuff, found an instructional Youtube video and got started. It is impossible to explain and is equally hard to understand I’m sure but the Lord met with me and helped me just as He had the night before with writing. I finished writing it out Thursday morning and God again met with me. I felt His presence through the entire process. I didn’t just feel his presence but I felt His power. I, on my own power, cannot write or speak the way He had me to do. I on my own power, cannot paint the picture that I did for this event. The difference between the two paintings is evident. It appears that two different people painted them.
I am not a professional speaker and certainly not a professional painter but without His power helping me, I would not have been able to accomplish what I did.
It occurred to me this morning during my quiet time as I was praying over my husband, my children and my home, that the same power that I accessed to accomplish what I did the previous week was available to me today. If I go humbly before God and get desperate for my family and my role in my house, I can be a better mother. I can be more patient. I can train and discipline from love instead of reacting in frustration. I can allow Him to move my hand across the canvas of my family and with strokes of grace and love paint a beautiful picture of family. If I access this power as a wife, I can bring to my husband more than a tired Momma who has little left to give at the end of the day. Through His power I may even be able to keep my house organized and clean. What am I toiling to do, that if I would just allow God to take over, I could do with ease? Why do I seek God so earnestly and desperately to speak to women for one night but the husband and children that I minister to daily don’t get the same desperate prayers? Do I pray for them? Absolutely! But, if I am honest, the monotony of the daily activities and chores can cause me to lose my passion, and the desperation to see Him move in my family is not always there. My life becomes routine and too often, so do my prayers. I do not expect to see miraculous results. I am putting God in a box and shutting Him out. But what if I open the lid and expect God to speak and use us? My family could do amazing things for this world. We could start a non-profit to feed the hungry or provide clean drinking water. We could be the spark that ignites a revival. We could learn and grow together and live in harmony together, growing ever closer in our relationship to Christ and to each other and helping one individual at a time….and THIS would be amazing!! Whether God uses my family to spark a revolution (how cool would that be) or to love one person who feels unloved (what an honor), if we will access His power, He can use us to a greater degree than He is now. And who wouldn’t want that? I do!! I want to have more peace in my house. To not feel overwhelmed with laundry and dishes and dinner and my kids growing out of clothes. I want to see my kids grow in character and becoming the men of God I desire them to be. Today, I choose to live in the power of my Creator, to allow Him to lead me, guide me and direct me. And today, I live expectantly for what God may do.