Light Will Come Bursting In
by Callan & Shelley Coleman(51)Houseboat Ministries
Nothing is impossible with God. He caused Elizabeth to get pregnant when she was barren, raised Lazarus from the dead, parted the Red sea, and has done miracles in all of our lives also. He is all powerful, and His love endures through all generations. His word is true, and if we believe it with abandon, we will notice when amazing things happen. This is what we have to keep reminding our selves when “darkness overtakes” us.
Our family has been through some major tragedy and loss. These things have affected us emotionally, and financially, causing the path of our lives to have to change from the innocent belief of how they were going to go before they went terribly wrong. We have seen personalities change in family members as a result of being betrayed by their own spouses, and had kids cruelly denied from seeing their father. We have seen parents sacrifice their retirement to help make a dream a reality only to see it disappear, because the person they trusted was lying.
Yet, the one thing the enemy could not take from them or us is the love of God. This love does not let us down. Through it all, we have loved each other with probably more passion than if we were smooth sailing with no serious problems. We have all come to realize that material things have no bearing in how we can still enjoy serving God through the dark times. We have all experienced staying in the faith, and holding on to the scriptures that remind us of this:
2 Timothy 1:7 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. (Amp)
And we have seen God do the impossible after years of praying about situations we thought would never change. As I am writing this, Shelley and I are reeling with joy from a complete turn around last week to a situation that was going on for six years! When we first realized things were bad five years ago, we had no idea how we would get out of this business partnership, which involved a major financial investment, with no way of recouping our loss in sight. But God knew, and in a sudden moment, He changed it to completely shift to our advantage. We never had to enter the battle in the natural. We can say that we were honest and stayed godly throughout, only because of the power of His spirit and His grace in our hearts. We agreed not to ever turn ugly, and now it is paying off. Getting in the flesh would have ensured that we would lose the investment. But because we hung on faith, we now have a completely new way this will be done. We kept standing on His word, and He watched over it, until He had the proper pieces in place to fix what was wrong. The word says He hates evil and loves justice. We just saw Him take down a Goliath right before our eyes. Remember the worship song "I stand, in awe of you." Oh yes, let's remember these moments when we are facing another challenge.
I recently heard in a sermon that the most often repeated phrase in the bible is “fear not”. When we go through the various trials, the refiners fire forges this into us. We begin to realize that the most unspeakable horrors can be committed against us, but we find that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. We still rise up in the morning, and have a reason to have hope for a better tomorrow. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Today, I write to you thankful for the trials, because of what they have taught me about how to fully trust God. I also declare that God has a good plan to bring glory to Himself, even through the serious troubles that come from other people’s sin of disobedience. The problems of sin don’t even have to be our own sin that causes them! But look at this: “…But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Rom. 5:20. But Shelley and I have learned how we can be better leaders, better spouses, better ministers, and better servants for the Lord. We have more compassion for the brokenhearted, more love for the downtrodden.
When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Psalm 112:4 (NLT). His grace is sufficient for us 2 Cor. 12:9. We have seen our family survive hellish acts committed against them, yet they are living to see another day, cheerful, forgetting what is behind, and looking forward to what God has in their future. He’s a God of restoration, and refreshment. We’ve seen and felt it first hand. Nothing is impossible with God if he hold fast to believing in Him. We will see change, and impossible situations turn completely around.
Let's remember to fear not, believe, and pray without ceasing.
Psalm 112:4-10
4 When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in.They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
6 Such people will not be overcome by evil.
Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
7 They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
8 They are confident and fearless
and can face their foes triumphantly.
9 They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor.
10 The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
They will grind their teeth in anger;
they will slink away, their hopes thwarted. (NLT)
Article submitted Monday, July 13, 2009 & read 1155 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Teresa(1,457)(1 year 56 days ago.)
Cal, what a powerful testimony to what God does in His timing. The temptation to fix things is costly if we give in to our anger and hurt. Thank you for the example of standing firm and trusting in God to restore what others mean for evil.This is an incredibly encouraging message. Thank you again! Lord bless you! TeresaRespond to this comment
» left by Brian Farrell(290)(1 year 56 days ago.)
Thank you for this uplifting and faith building article! The comfort God has given you has comforted me. Praise God! He is good and He is on His throne. He loves His children and works all things out for good for those that love Him!Respond to this comment
» left by Lydia Najera from Spangle, Washington (1 year 54 days ago.)
Thank you so much for this powerful statement because it opened my eyes alittle more. I would love to talk to you both some time.Respond to this comment
» left by David Faulkner from Ireland (105 days 4 hours ago.)
As a family we are in common with so many others experiencing increasing financial pressures with our economy in Ireland going down the tubes .I am a self employed person who has had to let all our staff go early last year and even now there seems to be no end .Yes we have seen the Lord display his love many times over the last 18 months in truly miraculous ways .However I have struggled to stay close to the Lord and have lost my joy .
The words ' When darkness overwhelms my soul ' were going through my mind last week and this evening I googled them and yours was the first on the list .
Thank you Jesus for faithful soldiers who encourage us through their own trials .
Bless you both for 'lighting my path and pointing the way '
David (Dublin Ireland )
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