The glory of the Lord is my strength and my song. I met a woman yesterday who shared with me her story of God’s glory, and her face glowed. She beamed with light as she shared of the miraculous way in which the Lord worked in her life. Her story starts by my estimation around 13 years ago when her husband was sent to prison and she was left to raise her two children on her own. He would be in prison for 5 years, and for 5 years she would be a single mother. What he was guilty of is not of consequence to the story, but I can tell you he loves the Lord and it is evident in his life.
She started to tell me a story, but had to back up and expand it a little further. She told me how she was in desperate need of a good car. The car she had been left with was a smokin hot Mustang and she detested the attention it brought her. She needed a mom car, a reliable mom car. So she found a dealership that was owned by a Christian couple and they helped her find a car on their lot and gave her favorable terms for her trade and really did right by her. Two weeks later the car broke down. She went back to them and they gave her a car to drive in the meantime, but they quickly realized that the amount of money it would cost to fix her car (which they were willing to do) would be greater than just letting her pick between two other cars. She selected one and they told her to drive it a week or so and make sure she really like it. She loved it.
She had to go back in and fill out the papers for the new car. That day she was a wreck. She was broke. She owed rent, and it was late, and she had another bill that was due. Times were tough for this single mother of two who was working two jobs and going to school full time (she is a GO-GETTER). So she woke up in the morning and started praising God in her crisis. She gave him her bills and she said “God, I can’t do this. This is what I owe, and you know what I have. I know that today you are going to show me your glory and you are going to make a way.” All day long she said these words, “you are going to show me your glory.”
The day went by and she kept saying it and praying it and praising God for the glory he would bring in her time of great need. She knew she had to go sign the papers and so she drove to the dealership and as she finished signing them the owner handed her a check. She looked up at him dumbfounded. “What is this?” she asked. “That is the difference between the price of the first car and the new car you have.” She looked at the number on the check, and to the CENT it was the exact total of the two bills she needed to pay.
She was overwhelmed with joy and praised God and shared giddily with the owner of God’s glory. What an awesome God that we serve!
As I sat reading this morning I began reading about the glory of God. I just finished 1st Corinthians *LOVE* that book. I know it is a book of correction because the folks at Corinth needed lots of correcting, but the way I figure it, I need lots of correcting too. So I drank it up! I was thirsty.
Today I found myself in 2nd Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians is finding itself overrun with underlines and highlights just the same as 1st Corinthians. I came to chapter 4 and starting in verse 7 read:
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…
{loves}
Now down to verse 15…
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Ohhhhhh, isn’t this amazing!
Let’s increase our thanksgiving! In fact let’s thank him right now.
Jesus, THANK YOU. Thank you so much for your word...a love letter to my soul. Thank you so much for taking the weight of my sin on your shoulders, despite my sin being detestable to you. Forgive me for repeatedly getting caught up in myself and my little life and not giving you all the thanks and all the glory and all the honor due your precious name all the time. I am not worthy of your love and I fall short of your glory. I fall so far short of your glory that it wouldn’t even make sense to say that I fell short…our sin separated us from God. Enter you, his perfect beloved son, willing to give it all to come here and live amongst us. You took on an earthly perspective and you lived a sinless life. Blemish free. Then you bridged the gap and covered up our sins. You bought us, you redeemed us, you reconciled us, and you made a way so that we could have a Father – son, or Father – daughter, relationship. Without you we would be under the law. Your word makes it clear that under the law we would be under death. But by the Spirit we have been given life. You are everything, and every good thing comes from you. Thank you for bringing rain. Thank you for bringing cooler temperatures. Thank you for your mercy and thank you for your *LOVE*. In Jesus precious name, Amen.
I want to thank Lisa for bringing me chocolate on Saturday when she heard of my 'Toddler gone crazy day', and she brought me lights for my new porch (Should the Lord will it be our porch). What a blessing.
I also want to thank Erin. I got a package in the mail today. In it was a jar of Anise, a love note that read:
I am so blessed. I have wonderful friends. Thank you Lord! Now I get to make Manuel’s bread…YUM!
Xoxo
Ronda
what an amazing story!! thanks for sharing :)
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