Great Thanksgiving

Cross-post - This a posting I wrote for WeUsed2bu Ministries..

Great Thanksgiving

This month we wanted to share with our readers what we were most thankful for. Images of my friends, family, sisters and mothers in the Lord flooded my mind and I thanked God for all of them. I am thankful for the peace and joy flowing through my entire being that comes from a total dependency and confidence in our Lord. I really have so much to be thankful for. But I wanted to share what I am MOST thankful for in this season of my life. Then the other day in the mail I received one of my ministry magazines and on the front cover was 2 Corinthians 4:15,

“All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:15

Immediately in my spirit I knew that was the Word that I needed to share with you.

“All of this is for your benefit..” hit me first. You see today I can look back over my life at all the struggles and bumps that I hit on the road and know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was making a way through all of it for such a time as this. He allowed me to follow my own rebellious, stubborn, and disobedient ways because He loved me and knew that He had a plan far greater than I could ever plot. His plan was to deliver me from my own wickedness. Along the way He put many road blocks and detours to try to lead me back to Him, but I was so foolish and hard hearted. But He didn’t give up on me. He allowed me to be pulled up out of society and consecrated to Him behind prison walls were I began an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. It was there that the Holy Spirit showed me that the enemy had been trying to destroy me since I was a little girl, but the Lord did not allow him to take my life. He let me see that what the enemy meant for my destruction that He would use for my good and for His glory. He saved me and gave me a desire to want to know Him, to know His Word. My life began to change. My mind was being renewed through the Word of God. (Genesis 50:20)

That journey began over twelve years ago. For many years I struggled with the Spirit choosing to sit on the proverbial fence with one leg in the world and one leg in the church. Then the Lord called me out and made me realize that if I was not working with Him then I was actually working against Him. My gifting and talents were given to me not to serve the world but to be used to glorify Jesus, edify the church, and win souls for the Kingdom, but I hadn’t surrendered completely yet. (Matthew 12:30)

I began to realize that we are truly in the end days and I did not want my family to be left behind for the tribulation to come. Nor did I want any of them to die and go to hell. I knew the Truth that Jesus came to save the lost, heal the broken hearted, and set the captives free. I believed what the Word said in Acts 16:31 about my entire household being saved. The Lord put a new song on my heart and I began to praise and glorify Him like I had never done before, not just with my words but with my life. He lit a fire in me and I began to want to be used by Him to reach the lost and hurting. I wanted everyone around me to know that Jesus Christ IS The Way, The Truth, and The Life. I wanted them to know that what He had done for me and my husband He could and would do for them if they asked. I began to stand on Psalm 40:3b,

“Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

I knew that those who knew the old me knew that I was truly different. I had been transformed into a new creation in Christ Jesus. So I began to testify about what God had done in my life to those closest to me. For those that did not want to listen I believed that my life would be the witness they needed to see. I began to pray, fast, and intercede for our family taking back the ground that the enemy took for so long. I began to understand and feel in my heart and spirit the same desire that our Lord has, that none should perish but that they should have eternal life with Christ Jesus. Well we know that the Word says, “The prayers of a righteous man (or woman) avails much”. (James 5:16)

Glory be to God, since jumping off the fence my husband and I have seen almost twenty family and friends receive Jesus Christ as their Lord Savior and the Lord has used us to found different ministries, including this one. Now these people are bringing friends and family to church with them and they are sharing the Gospel with others. Just recently my father had the privilege of leading his brother to the Lord. These ministries are reaching people all over the world and the Truth of God’s Word is being shared! All the glory goes to God!

So when I read 2 Corinthians 4:15 it had new meaning and relevance to my life. I realized that everything that I had been through was not only for my benefit but for my family and friends as well as for these ministries. So there is GREAT THANKSGIVING in my life today because God’s grace is reaching more and more people all around me and all over the world, and our Lord Jesus Christ will receive more and more glory. To know that my imperfect life has been used by God to save others greatly humbles me. I will be thankful for all eternity.