So many
times we pray, asking God to show us some answers to our questions or concerns.
Then when we open the Bible we see before us the answer that we are seeking. We
somehow seem to forget that another name for the Holy Scriptures is the Word of
God. So often that is how he speaks to us. Recall some of the occasions when,
like me, you have heard His voice in this way.
I could tell
you of many instances. One of the most graphic for us, my husband and I, was
when we were trying to discover if the ministry was part of God’s design for
our lives. In this case, we prayed and asked the Lord to show us specifically
through Scripture if this was His plan for our lives. We should not have been
as awestruck as we were when the next morning, Glen opened his Bible to read
where he had left off the day before and found these words from I Corinthians
9: 16 - 17 seemed to jump out at him as he read, “16 I don’t have any reason
to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to
do, and if I don’t do it, I am doomed. 17 If I preach because I
want to, I will be paid. But even if I don’t want to, it is still something God
has sent me to do.”*
When he read these words, Glen called out to me, “Eleanor,
I think we have our answer.” As he read the words to me, my response was, “It
certainly sounds like it.” Further confirmation came from his breakfast time
reading of excerpts from the Scriptures called Living Light. Having been challenged by a friend about making this
decision and told that he would probably not respond to such a call because we
enjoyed our comfortable lifestyle, the passage that day was more than relevant,
with the challenge from Matthew 6: 24, “24 You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will
like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot
serve both God and money.”*
These are
obvious ways in which God has spoken to us through the Scriptures. There are
also more subtle manners He has communicated with us. It was in reading Psalm
139 that Glen arrived at his conclusions about the subject of abortion. I
became convicted that I needed to do something about social justice, to be
obedient to God’s plans for my life when I read Micah 6: 8 that says, “The Lord God
has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let
mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”*
There have
been times when prayers we are unable to utter for ourselves have also received
an answer from the Scriptures offered to us by someone else. Such was the case
when our son was paralyzed in a car accident in Vermont. The friend who drove
us to the airport in France, to take the flight home shared with us that the
Lord had given him some words of comfort to offer to us as we rushed to John’s
side. He quoted from Isaiah 30: 15, “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest
you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”*
One such
promise that prompts me to such action occurs many times in the Bible. One of
these incidences is in James 1: 5 that says,
“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is
generous and won’t correct you for asking.”* This is an invitation that I
am happy to respond to and I find He keeps His word.
 |
| Word Guild Award 2009 |
* Bible translation used is Contemporary English Version
 |
| Word Guild Award 2011 |
 |
| Lastest Book |
1 comment:
Thank you, Eleanor, for sharing this testimonial. Glen and you surely received clear ministry direction for your lives. The Scriptures you cite have all played a role along my life's pathway and in service to our Lord, and they still do.
What a handsome couple photo - so sharp in your uniforms! ~~+~~
Post a Comment