Tag: amazing God

That’s My Dad!

On By LindaIn short stories4 Comments

As she read the Old Testament, and the various ways God dealt with the prophets and the Israelites, an idea slowly took form in her mind. That was not just God who did those things, it was her Dad!

The whole previous year, God had revealed His Fatherhood to her. And now she connected the God of the Israelites with the God who is her Father. But not just her Father – a parental figure who loved her and took care of her – but her Dad – who knew her intimately and who liked to hang out with her.

Wow!  She was blown away!

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It was her Dad who hid in the burning bush and parted the sea and rained down manna.

It was her Dad who appeared as fire and smoke and scared the Israelites.

It was her Dad who knocked over the walls of Jericho.

It was her Dad who sent the big fish after Jonah.

It was her Dad who had incredible conversations with the prophets.

And it was her Dad who did so many other amazing things!

Excited, she couldn’t wait to reread the Old Testament in this new light. It was like His dealing with people of long ago suddenly became more personal.

Looking up, grateful to the Holy Spirit for helping her understand a little bit more about God, she whispered, “There is none like You, my amazing Dad!”

He whispered back, “And there is none like you, my amazing daughter!”

Jesus Changes Things

On By LindaIn short storiesLeave a comment

She had always been nervous around people. From as far back as she could remember, her fear of people had kept her from enjoying family gatherings, public places, and even school. Sure, she could act like everything was OK. And sometimes she actually did find herself enjoying something that involved people. But even so, her nerves would cause her sweat glands to work overtime. Not just the simple underarm wetness that most people have to deal with. For her, it meant sweat dripping off her hands and running down her arms and sides. Enough sweat to actually form a puddle on the floor or on her chair. And she hated herself for it.

So she asked for prayer.

Her boyfriend prayed for her. Her friends prayed for her. Even the whole prayer group, including the inner healing team, prayed for her.

And things got worse.

She wondered, “Why? Could Satan have anything to do with this? Is it my will I’m fighting for against God’s will – does He want my total submission and this is bringing me to it? Is it premenstrual strain building up for the last couple of weeks? Am I not getting some kind of nutrient I need?”

She said, “God, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to be with people anymore. I just want to be alone. And I’m sorry for hiding out in the bathroom last night instead of joining the group in prayer. They were going to hold hands and I just couldn’t deal with the nerves and the sweat.  Nevertheless, I love You and I’m going to trust that you know what’s going on.”

Many times when she was feeling bad about herself, she would receive an unexpected gift – a rose, a picture drawn by a child, or a card in the mail – that she attributed to God. The time was no different. Actually, it was. She didn’t receive a gift – she received several gifts!  Some chicken from one friend, and some rolls and a desert from another friend. But best of all was a t-shirt that arrived weeks earlier than she expected. Across the front of the t-shirt were the words, “Jesus changes things.” Amazing coincidence? Absolutely not!

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“Thank You, Lord! I love it!” she responded as she clutched the shirt to her heart. He had heard her, and His reassurance that He would change her was exactly what she needed.

It would be years before she would see the evidence of the changes He was doing inside her. But while waiting, every time she started to give up, she’d see the message on the shirt and her faith would be renewed. Once again, God showed His amazing love for her by providing her with the perfect gift at just the right time.

Little Red Throne Chair

On By LindaIn short stories2 Comments

Everything was quiet. Everyone’s eyes were closed. It was time to be with God.

She sat very still, eyes closed like everyone else, and waited for what God would tell her. While waiting, she sometimes imagined herself standing in His throne room. She would picture herself kneeling at His feet, standing before Him with her head bowed, or even curled up on His lap. But this night, it was different. As she stood there, before she could decide what she wanted to do, He pointed to a small red throne-type chair and said, “Sit here, My daughter.”

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She opened her eyes and thought surely that was just her imagination. A throne chair? For her? Was that even biblical?

“What did you see?” Patti asked her.

“How do you know I saw something?” she responded cautiously, not wanting to share something as questionable as the chair.

“I just know. Something in my spirit. You saw something. What was it?”

So she told Patti along with the others who were listening. Their excitement for her got her to thinking…  what if it’s not just my imagination? What if I really am in His throne room and that I can actually go into it whenever I want? Wouldn’t that be amazing!

Just to be sure, she looked in the Bible and found…

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence…” Hebrews 4:16 

Yes, she thought, it is biblical that we can go in the throne room, even now, while we are still alive.

“… so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones…” Luke 22:30

Well, He was actually talking to His disciples. But if all His followers are invited to eat at His table, maybe all of His followers will also get to sit on thrones! So maybe her vision of the little red throne chair wasn’t so crazy after all!

Even When You Complain

On By LindaIn short stories1 Comment

She ran away. Like she always tried to do when confronted with too much stress. This time it was a decision she was having a hard time making. Go to the church service Ruth wanted her to go to? Or go to the prayer meeting at Louis’s house that she had been invited to, again. She didn’t want to do either but didn’t know how to say no. So she ran away to her favorite place – the beach.

Once on the beach, she sat down and began complaining and answering herself, not waiting for God to speak. Almost immediately, like a cool breeze and just as quick, she got the impression that Jesus sat down next to her. Even so, she continued to complain. “Why is hearing from God so hard? Why doesn’t He ever speak audibly to me? It’s not like it would make a difference in my faith or love for Him.  Why do I have to stay here in this small town? There’s nothing here for me. What would I do if I knew I was going to be here for a couple more years? Probably nothing more than what I’m already doing. Why do I have to go to Louis’s prayer meetings? That makes three meetings a week. That’s too much! How can I get out of it?  Maybe I could tell him that, although I won’t be attending the meetings, I would still like to be invited to any other gatherings they have. Like maybe if they have a picnic.”

That gave her a great idea – a beach party! She could invite all the believers she had come to know in this town – which weren’t that many actually. They could roast marshmallows and sing worship songs around the campfire!  That would be awesome! She got so excited, she forgot about complaining.

She looked up into the darkening sky and saw the moon. It looked to her like the eye of God was looking directly at her. She smiled up at it and asked God to help her with her new plans. Then as she left, still smiling, she thanked Jesus for the quiet time on the beach. And she was once again amazed at the unconditional love He had for her even when she was upset and full of complaints!

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The Attack… and Some Brown Leaves

On By LindaIn short stories4 Comments

Already feeling low from struggling with a decision she was finding hard to make, she was not prepared for her dad’s attack.

“Christians are all ignorant fools,” he told her. “Too stupid to use their own minds, they just follow whatever the church says. Blind faith. Stupid faith.”

“It’s not like that,” she tried to explain. But he wouldn’t listen.

“You’re no better than them. You have been brainwashed into believing God can actually love you. That He’s actually interested in your life. He is God! Creator of the universe! He doesn’t care about each tiny individual. He made the world and now it’s up to us.”

“But that’s not what Jesus said…”

“Jesus!” he interrupted her. “He may have been a good man, but he was not God. He didn’t know any more than anyone else. People just made him into something he wasn’t because they needed something to hold on to when life got tough. Jesus is nothing more than a crutch.”

“He’s more than that, dad. He is God and He is with us. I know! I met Him!”

“If you believe that, you’re no better than any of those other delusional people. If you were smart, you’d drop this fantasy and look at life as it really is.”

“What about the Bible? The Bible says that Jesus is God and..” She was cut off again.

“It was written by ignorant people trying to explain a world they didn’t understand. We know better now. Science has proven most of the bible inaccurate. It’s just a book of fairy tales…”

And on and on he went, his voice rising as his anger against Christianity grew. Eventually, he got tired of ranting and left the room. She sat there, feeling as sore and bruised as if he had actually beat her. She slowly got up and got ready for bed. She started to pray but stopped. How could she? She didn’t deserve to be with Jesus. She had not been able to defend Him, to speak up for Him, to make her dad understand. She had let Jesus down. She felt like she couldn’t have Jesus anymore – not because He didn’t want her, but because they just couldn’t be together anymore. And she wanted Him. Not just because she needed Him and without Him, she wouldn’t have life, but because she loved Him. And so she wept.

The next day was spent in misery. She felt like God was on her side concerning her belief VS her dad’s belief, but that didn’t help much. She still felt like she had let Jesus down.

That night, before entering the church hall for the weekly prayer meeting she attended, she decided to take a walk down the church yard. It was dark, and the ground was covered with brown leaves from the many trees in the yard. As she walked with her eyes down, she began talking to God, telling Him how she felt. She really didn’t feel like attending the meeting. She was in no mood to go in there and greet everyone with hugs and smiles and pretend everything was OK. So she asked God what she needed to do.

“Rejoice, and praise Me in song and with your words.”

She sighed. “OK. Fine. But it won’t be emotional.” Then she added, “Please keep me from being a wet blanket on everyone else.”

As she walked, she pictured Jesus walking next to her. As often was the case, her image seemed to take on a life of its own, and she saw Jesus act like He was feeling as down as she was and kick at the leaves.

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This made her smile. Jesus feeling down? And kicking at the leaves? She looked up at Him as she joined Him in kicking leaves, and she saw that He was smiling.

“Jesus, You are amazing! You always know just the right thing to do for me!”

And she went into the hall to greet everyone with hugs and smiles and act like everything was OK. Because it was.

A Dime for Your Thoughts

On By LindaIn short stories4 Comments

She loved finding stray coins on the ground. Usually pennies, she always picked them up as a reminder to trust in God. The words engraved on them actually told her to do that. But sometimes she thought of them as a hug from Him, or a pat on the back for making a particularly hard decision or finishing a hard job.

Finding coins of higher value were rarer, but they too got picked up with a quick, “Thank You, God” or “I love You, God.”  Sometimes she would get a sense of His love in return, but not any more than that.

On this day, however, it was different.

She had stopped at a gas station to fill her car and to get a cup of ice before heading to her brother’s house almost two hours away. She had been to his house numerous times over the last several months. Although seeing him was always nice, that was not the purpose of these visits. Her dad was the purpose. He had moved in with her brother and was no longer able to take care of himself. In fact, his decline was accelerating and she never knew what she would find when she arrived. Would he be his nice self and they would have an enjoyable visit? Or would he be his angry self, yelling at her because she couldn’t do anything exactly as he wanted? Or would he be sleeping her whole visit making her feel the four hour round trip was for nothing?  Calling ahead did no good because his mood often changed by the minute.

So on this day, as she entered the gas station, she was feeling a tug of war. She wanted to be there for her dad, but she didn’t want to go just to sit there while he slept. And she didn’t want to be yelled at. Looking down, she spotted a dime.

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“Thank You, God,” she said as she usually did. However, this time she was startled to clearly hear in her spirit,  “And thank you for going to your dad.”

Hearing from God was always amazing to her, But for God of the Universe to actually thank her for something? That was truly amazing!

God is My Defender

On By LindaIn short stories1 Comment

I heard those words repeatedly over the course of a few weeks.

“… your God, who defends his people.” Is 51:22

“This is what the LORD says, “See, I will defend your cause…” Jer 51:36

“We do not need to defend ourselves…” Dan 3: 16

“Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves…” Luke 12:11

OK, I thought. Must be a new lesson. Sounded good to me. I knew no one could be a better defender than the Almighty God who loved me. And it was always good when He wanted to do something for me.

So I watched for opportunities in which I would normally try to defend myself to practice this new lesson. They came more often than I would have guessed. Little things, but frequent enough to give me the time to get good at keeping my mouth shut.

“I’ve got this!” I finally felt one day.

“Really? Then it’s time.”

Time for what, I wondered.

“Would you come to my office please?” The principal didn’t sound too happy. Oh, no, I thought. What did I do now? Turns out a parent had made some complaints and wanted a meeting to discuss them, with the principal in attendance. The meeting was set for the following day.

All night I wondered what the complaints were. I searched my memory for any indication that any parent had been upset with me. Nothing. I had no clue which parent it was or what this parent was going to say.

“Remember, I am your defender. Do not say anything. Let Me defend you.”

“Aallll riiiight,” I said slowly, stretching out the sounds as I considered the cost. If I didn’t say anything, if I didn’t give my side, how would the principal know what the truth was? I would look bad, and may even be disciplined for something I didn’t do. At the very least, I would probably look like a fool for not responding. But I knew I had heard from God. And if He said don’t talk, I wouldn’t talk.

“God is my defender. God is my defender. God is my defender,” I chanted quietly the next afternoon as I made my way down two hallways to the principal’s office.

As I entered the principal’s office, I was shocked at who I saw in the other chair. My parent volunteer! The one who had been helping out in my classroom for a couple of weeks! I could feel the knife beginning to prick my back.

“Have a seat,” the principal said. Then he turned to the lady. “OK. You go first. What are your concerns?”

As she rattled off everything under the sun from rudeness to teaching sex education to the boys in her bathroom, I sat there stunned, probably with my mouth hanging open. What? Where was she getting this? Why was she doing this? Nothing, absolutely nothing she said had any truth in it!

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I wanted so badly to tell the principal that it wasn’t true! But I just kept hearing, “God is my defender.” So I remained quiet.

When she finally stopped, the principal asked her, “Are you finished?”

She nodded, then glared at me. The principal turned to look at me. I thought he was going to ask me something, but then he seemed to change his mind. He turned back to the lady.

“Let me tell you about this teacher,” he began. “She is one of the best teachers here at this school. She is honest, and has the highest integrity. She is…” and he continued singing my praises for several minutes! When he got done, all I could do was marvel at God’s faithfulness. I didn’t have to defend myself, God had the principal do it!

After the principal dismissed the parent, he told me not to worry about anything. As I left his office, I may have looked like any other teacher walking from one place to another. But inside, I was shouting and praising and dancing down that hallway – to the amazing God who prepares us beforehand and who keeps His word!

Mark 13:11  What Should I Say?

On By LindaIn short stories4 Comments

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can.”

“I don’t want to do this.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I am with you.”

She remembered what Jesus had told His followers in Mark 13:11: “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”

But did that assurance apply to her in this circumstance? She was not the one on trial. And this certainly had nothing to do with her faith. She was here because of a custody battle over one of her students.

She didn’t know much about the family. The only time she saw them was when one or the other dropped off their son. They were both friendly in different ways and the child was a delight. She had no idea there were problems until one day when the mom had come in her classroom with a large bruise on her face. Tears streaming down her face, the mom had accused her husband of beating her and said she was going to divorce him. The mom had been concerned how it would affect her son and asked to be alerted to any changes in his behavior.

A week later she was served with a subpoena. And here she sat, waiting to be called before the judge to… say what? She didn’t know anything!

She had no idea what to expect and was terrified that she would be asked who she thought would make the better parent. How could she choose? Because she had seen the bruise on the mom’s face, she was siding more with the mom, and it had been the mom’s lawyer who had subpoenaed her  – but what if the story she had been told was not the whole truth? What if the mom was crazy and blaming her husband for something he didn’t do? After all, she hadn’t been there. And she had heard enough stories over the years to know things are not always what they seem. She was scared she would say the wrong thing and the cause the boy to go to the wrong parent.

“God, help me,” she pleaded over and over again. “Don ‘t let them ask me that question.”

“Don’t worry,” the mom’s lawyer had said. “The judge never allows that question. He knows teachers only have limited information.”

“God, help me,” she pleaded again, too nervous to feel His presence, or even to trust that He heard her.

“I am here. You will be fine.”

Finally it was her turn. Facing the judge, the mom, the dad, and two lawyers was nerve racking just in itself. But then the lawyers started firing their questions until her mind was swimming. She got confused more than once and had to ask the dad’s lawyer to slow down. When she didn’t think she could handle any more questions, the dad’s lawyer asked her one more. “Who do you think would make the better parent?” She stared at him, then at the judge. Before she could say anything, the mom’s lawyer objected. He told the judge she wasn’t qualified to answer that because of her limited contact with the family.

The judge turned to look at her and said, “In my experience, teachers are pretty good at making intuitive judgments about their students’ families. I’ll allow the question.”

There it was. THE question. What could she say? She took a deep breath, then told the judge her impressions as the parents had taken turns dropping off their son in the mornings. “I don’t know who would make the better parent,” she said. “But because the mom always talked about her son, and the dad always talked about himself, I would have to choose the mom.”

All the way home, she kicked herself, remembering what she could of the interview, and realizing she could have done a better job. If only that lawyer hadn’t kept confusing her!

The next morning, when the mom arrived with her son, she hung her head and apologized to the mom. “I’m so sorry if I messed anything up.”

The mom shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Your answers were perfect!” She handed a pencil to her. “Thank you so much!”

Atop the blue pencil was a large rubber eraser, shaped like a sun, with the words “God’s Love Shines On You.’

 

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And she knew that God has sent that pencil to her. It was like getting a hug from Him, assurance that she had done a good job regardless of her fears. Not that she believed for a minute that her answers were all that wise in and of themselves – but the Holy Spirit had guided her in what to say, and God had used it for His purpose, standing behind her and filling her words with His power and light. And that’s what everyone else had heard. Just like He had promised in Mark 13:11.

What an amazing, faithful God!

Love in the Sky

On By LindaIn short storiesLeave a comment

Head down, she walked outside. Not one of her better days. She needed some time with God but He seemed to be quiet recently so she wasn’t expecting much.

She had begun standing on her back deck for a few minutes each morning for her quiet time, looking up into the sky at her invisible Father and asking for His blessing on her day. It had been working well enough – her family had not interfered – but lately it had seemed more of an exercise than an intimate moment with Him. Why was He so quiet sometimes?

On this morning, she spent a few minutes with her eyes closed, just trying to be in His presence. Nothing. Giving up, she looked up to ask His blessing when she saw a cloud. Just one cloud. A white, heart shaped cloud in a wide blue expanse. And she heard, “I love you.” So quiet, so gentle.

Her heart overflowed with love and gratitude. “I love you, too.” she responded as she gazed at the cloud until it had dissipated.  Then she went inside, carrying that amazing touch of love with her, to begin her day.

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Lost Puppies

On By LindaIn short stories1 Comment

While she was sleeping, she dreamed…

The brown woven basket was filled with puppies. Cold, wet, shivering puppies. Not knowing any different, they stayed in that basket, huddling together in an attempt to get warm but without success.

Suddenly a hand reached down and gently picked up one of the puppies. As the puppy was held snuggly between two warm hands, the warmth flooded over and into her until she was infused with life. Her brown fur, once wet and plastered to her skin, became soft and fluffy.

The hand carefully place her back into the basket with the other puppies. Warmth spread from her and radiated into the cold puppies. As they got warmer, their fur dried and fluffed just as hers had done. The basket of cold, wet puppies transformed into a basket of warm, lively, happy puppies!

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She woke, the dream fresh in her mind. What did it mean? Somehow she felt it was from God so she spent some time thinking about it. Then she understood. She was the cold puppy that had been picked up. God had warmed her and then put her back into her family where His warmth, His life would spread to her siblings.

And that’s exactly what He did, she thought. He reached into my family, picked me up, warmed me spiritually, then returned me to my family. I didn’t have to do anything but allow the love He had given me to radiate to them. Over the next few years, she watched as one sibling after another warmed up and connected with Jesus. And she was deeply awed at God’s love and concern for a bunch of lost puppies, and how He had chosen her, through no merit of her own, to help bring about this amazing change.