“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7 ESV)
I was sensing that the Lord Jesus was wanting me to share a little bit of my testimony about the times in my life when I pursued getting an education in order to end up in a particular field of study, and hopefully a career, and to share how that went and where ultimately it all lead. And so I shared the following on Facebook with my Facebook friends. But then I sensed that the Lord was saying that he had more for me to share than just that, and so I looked at the verse of the day from Bible Gateway, and that led me to this passage of Scripture above. And it touched my heart in a special way.
In context, it is letting us know that we are not to fear other humans and what they will think about us or say about us or do to us. We are not to fear nor succumb to their opinions of us and thus let that determine who we become and what we do with our lives. And we are not to be persuaded by other humans to go any direction that is not of God. And we are to guard our hearts against hypocrisy and not be led by those who are hypocrites. We are not to be easily influenced by other humans who may put a damper on what God has in mind for us to do. But we must be following the Spirit’s leading.
My Testimony
In 1968 I graduated from East High School in Akron, Ohio. After that I took classes at the University of Akron in general studies and in music education. I was hoping to get a degree in music education. After about 3 years in the music department, late in 1971, I think it was, I was sitting in our general area at the Music Conservatory, and I heard this student talk about how he took music classes for 5 years but he could not get his degree because he could not pass the piano proficiency exam. Immediately it hit me! I was horrid at piano. I mean, I was tolerable, but not good enough to pass an exam like that.
So I dropped out and tried to get a job. But I had no particular skills to speak of, and that didn't go so well. So I went back to Akron U to take a typing class, and I also took bowling and English literature and one other class (don't know what). And then I was able to get a job at the Summit County Welfare Department where I worked for a few years in their clerical department and as a caseworker before I had my first child. Then I was a stay-at-home mom, basically, until all my kids were out of high school.
Then, in 2002, at the age of 52, I believed the Lord was leading me to take classes at York Technical College. So I took business classes there part-time for the next 4 years, and I achieved an entrepreneur certificate. I could have kept going to get a degree in business, but I felt that I learned what I needed to learn during that time, and that was that I could learn. I did not have much confidence at all in my ability to learn, so I needed that time to learn that I could learn, by the grace of God, and with his help and with the help of family.
Two years later, in 2004, the Lord called me to this writing ministry where he began to teach me so many things I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would ever be able to comprehend. And I was never much of a reader, for I had poor reading comprehension, but he was having me read science, history, and political articles, etc., that I would have considered way over my head, and he was helping me to understand them to a certain degree. And I learned so much I had no idea about before.
And he was teaching me from the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and then back to the beginning to the end, and then from the Psalms through Revelation, and again, and again, and he was teaching me so many things from the Scriptures that I would never have ventured to try to learn before. But he was opening up my mind and my heart to see so much I had no understanding of before but that I needed to understand, because he knew that I was going to need to know those things to do what he has me doing.
So, if you ever feel as though it is too late for you, or that you are not good enough, or as though you can't learn, if you are a believer in Christ, ask the Lord to help you to learn, and ask other people to help you, too. And ask him what he wants to do with your life, no matter how old you are. And then trust him that he will give you whatever you need to do what he wants you to do, even if it seems utterly impossible. He has done the impossible in my life these past 20 years, and nothing within God's perfect will is impossible for him. Just don't ever give up. Every day is a brand new day.
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I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go
Lyrics by Mary Brown, 1891
Music by Carrie E. Rounsefell, 1894
It may not be on the mountain’s height,
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front,
My Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still, small voice He calls,
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I’ll go where You want me to go.
I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.
Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now in the paths of sin,
Some wand’rer whom I should seek;
O Savior, if Thou wilt be my guide,
Though dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo Thy message sweet,
I’ll say what You want me to say.
There’s surely somewhere a lowly place,
In earth’s harvest fields so white,
Where I may labor through life’s short day,
For Jesus the Crucified;
So trusting my all to Thy tender care,
And knowing Thou lovest me,
I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere,
I’ll be what You want me to be.
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