Our God is . . . (Day 31)

This is the final post of our Write 31 Days series. If you’ve missed a post or would like to re-read some, you can find each post on the landing page: 31 Days of Miracles. Today's post written by Anna Smit. 

In September, Debbie and Anna sat chatting, time zones apart, but in Spirit joined, as God led us to this beautiful series. As we prayed over our ideas and plans for 31 Days of Miracles, God both closed and opened doors, leading us to who He wanted to share and our writers to the stories He wanted told. We have watched Him recover beautiful memories, grow a vulnerable strength and deepen our trust in Him. What a blessing this month has been to stand in awe and be amazed at our God as He’s worked in and through each one of us, writers and readers alike.

He has revealed Himself as a God who sees us, knows us so intimately and never ever stops pursuing us. A God whose love is powerful, compassionate, tender, gracious, merciful, kind, empowering and an anchor through each and every storm and heart wrenching loss.

Thank you to each one of you who has linked hands with us to pray over and through this series. We have known our God’s Presence each step of the way and feel so privileged to have been entrusted each of the beautiful stories Jesus has written on His people’s hearts. We pray that our God will continue what He has begun here.

LORD we thank You for each and every one of our readers and writers. We thank You for the stories You have written and are continuing to write upon their hearts. LORD we thank You that You are our God who has knit each one of us in our mother’s womb, who is working each and every piece of brokenness within us into Your healing wholeness and whose plan is not to harm us, but to prosper us. We thank You that even now You are sending us out to bring Light and hope into the darkness.

We thank You for the privilege and honor of serving in Your Kingdom, for pouring out the love, joy, faith and hope You have sown within each one of us. May the words You have blessed us with continue to be a blessing to those around us, near and far. Send us and our stories, where You can set captives free, bind up their wounds and lead them in the path of righteousness, of life-giving truth. This we pray in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

NOTE: The two graphics above include my answer to and answers some of our writers sent me in response to the question: Who is your God? Special thanks to Wendy L. Simpson (chriswendysimpson. wordpress.com) for the stunning artwork. And also a special thank you goes to each one of our contributing writers and faithful readers.

Look at Me, You are Mine (Day 22)

This is the 21st post for our Write 31 Days series 31 Days of Miracles: Who is Our God. Today, Anna Louise Smit  shares her story.

She is ever so eager. Walking at nine months old, standing at the kitchen counter buttering her own piece of bread with a big sharp knife at 13 months. Thirsty for life, she believes every word of her Father:

Psalm 139: 13 – 14 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

That same tenacity for life serves her well as her family moves to the other side of the world, four years old. Until, seven or eight years old at the time, another girl turns toward her. Looks her straight in the eyes and says: “Why don’t you just go back where you came from.” Cut. She soaks in the lie of her accuser: “You don’t belong.”

Many years later, I step foot in a church again, after fleeing God for more than twenty years. Perhaps He is calling me home. The gentle tenderness of His peace upon my grieving heart and my dying Mum begins to pierce the frightening idol I fled. My closest kiwi friend prays for a coming home. A miracle. The vicar preaches on Ephesians 3: 17 – 19 (NLT):

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Only a couple of years after the first cutting words, the little girl boards a plane home to New Zealand. Even though she never audibly hears the words spoken they reverberate within her: “You are not one of us. Go home.” Every shrug, every eye roll, every sarcastic tone, every word of disapproval becomes a knife. She is on the outside looking in, even as friendships bloom. The little girl retreats more and more, scared of the zest for life within her: “Whatever you do. Don’t stand out.”

This frightened little girl returns, when God leads me to a new Dutch-speaking church. A church of 400+ members where I know nobody. Away from my safe community of English speakers. And yet He encourages me to rest in His truth (Deuteronomy 31: 8, NIV):

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

As I prepare to move, my new church starts MamaSamen (Moms Together). The perfect way for me to get to know other Moms in a quieter, less overwhelming setting. “Look at Me” He says, “You are Mine.”

Just when she starts adjusting to a new country, language, culture and school, the knife of human rejection cuts again. Her Mum shares her teacher’s words: “There is something wrong with her, she won’t cope as an adult.” Her mother shares it to reassure her of its untruth. But the insecure pre-teen she is, soaks it in: “There’s something wrong with me.”

And I hear those words again, as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder hits. I see and feel and hear my mother’s body breaking as the cancer ravages her body. Darkness covers me. “How can I best end my life.” But in one last desperate plea, I hurl the full force of my anger at Him, daring Him to show me life is worth the living. 

I open my Bible to His promises (John 6: 35 – 40 MSG): “I’m holding you both tight. I’m not about to let you go. I will set you both before our Heavenly Father whole and complete.” There is nothing wrong with me. The accuser has been wrapping me in lies, but God cuts them in two: “Look at Me, you are Mine.”

Around the same time as the words of her teacher cut an even deeper wound, she tries to protect the one she loves dearly. But hearing his heart heave with pain, the hands she trusts most turn her away. “You’re all alone.”

After God feeds me with the Hope of His Word, the darkness doesn’t disappear. Rather, it intensifies. The little girl cries: “See, we’re all alone.” But into its depths, God pours Light.

Romans 8: 38 – 39 (NIV) on my fridge, I speak it into being, moment to moment:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I don’t feel this love, but declare it. I listen to Kari Jobe’s Scripture-breathed I am not Alone on repeat and my eyes open to angels beckoning my mother homeward. “Look at Me, you are Mine.”

The hands she trusts most turning her away, grow a seed of distrust. Not just of humans, but of God. She beholds hands punishing outward behavior, rather than comforting the hurting heart beneath, and she lets the accuser tell her this is her God. So, she tries harder to be “good”. But, she can’t. She flees. More than twenty years long. “You don’t belong. You never will. You’re just not good enough for God.”

That shaking, frightened girl reappears, as darkness consumes me. I am on a waiting list to see a therapist and it seems as if the accuser sees his opportunity to kill me once and for all. I begin to once again believe that God is out to hurt me, as the enemy straps me into a hurtling roller-coaster of pain and fear. I scream: “Where are you, LORD,” finally turning my daring questions toward Him. He draws near, opening my eyes. I see and feel Him place me on his knee. He encourages me to let my anger out, in His arms.

“I’m angry too. Angry at the enemy’s destruction. The punishment inflicted upon the one you love. The ravages of cancer consuming and breaking your mother’s body. Kick, scream, throw a tantrum. It’s okay. I’m holding you and not about to let you go. I see it all. I’m working it all together for good. Trust me.”

I see my mother glowing with the radiance of heaven, our family holding hands amidst a multitude of worshippers before His throne, singing “Majesty, Worship His Majesty”, and the one I’d failed to protect, walking safely hand in hand with Jesus. 

“Look at me, you are Mine.” Miracle.

I still hear and feel that little girl today. And I imagine you do too at times, the girl or boy of your past. But each time we do, He beckons us near: “Look at Me, My child. Not the enemy’s lies, not human brokenness, Me. You are Mine.” 

For Anna Smit's full bio and contacts, visit her at https://joyofthespiritwithin.wordpress.com/about/

Who is our God? 31 Days of Miracles:

Day One

For the month of October, Anna Smit from joyofthespiritwithin.wordpress.com  and I will be teaming to bring you stories of Miracles from around the world. A new story will be featured every day. Be blessed! 

Webster's dictionary defines a miracle as "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs." (Italics mine).

Why would we need divine intervention? God reveals Himself in different ways to different people, according to His Will and our need. Sometimes it could be so a person can experience God personally for the first time, or in a new and intimate way. A miracle's function might be to save someone from harm, or bring encouragement. It could be an emphatic affirmation to become alert to His leading. The ultimate objective of miracles seems to be about God desiring to communicate with us! It is a humbling thought.

When we think of miracles, often we think of monumental phenomenon of Biblical proportions, like God parting the Red Sea so the Israelites could pass safely on dry ground, or Jesus changing water into wine, and feeding 5000 with five loaves and two fish, or bringing people back from the dead. Some "experts" argue that miracles no longer happen in this modern age as they did in Bible times.

Still others hold a strict materialist worldview that excludes miracles, and God, altogether. In Eric Metaxas' book, Miracles, he opens his first chapter with this quote from The New Yorker "journalist" "Adam Gopnik:

"We know that . . .in the billions of years of the universe's existence, there is no evidence of a single miraculous inter[c]ession with the laws of nature ...We need not imagine that there's no Heaven; we know that there is none, and we will search for angels forever in vain." 

Anyone who has been astounded as their life intersects the HOLY in an authoritative way, who know they have met GOD in a moment of profound change, are deeply saddened when people take the obligatory Divine out of the equation. After our spiritual experiences, we know better. Faith is no longer blind. Sometimes miracles are stunning and powerful, as Debbie wrote three years ago in this post Quantum Change, about a book entitled Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives.

When Debbie had her Quantum-Change, or "born again," experience almost seventeen years ago, she knew it was an interruption from God as He whispered to her soul, "Stay alert. Don't disregard what is coming. Never doubt what I can achieve." She is thankful for the powerful insistence. Otherwise, she would have been blindsided, and perhaps missed the biggest and best Gift of her life.

There are more subtle miracles too. The past nine months of Debbie’s grief journey of losing her twenty-one year old son, Roma, she has felt God so close, gifting her with reminders that all is still well in the BIG picture of Eternal Life. Often His Presence is palpable, and it floods Debbie with Joy and peace that passes human understanding, as He whispers: "Do you SEE how much I love you?"

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) English writer, philosopher, and lay theologian observed, simply, as we do, "I believe in miracles because of human testimonies," One need not look far to find stories of the miraculous, odd incidents that defy explanation, and leave us with a strong and lasting sensation of benevolence. I can't think of any examples of miracles bringing fear. Countless books have been written on the topic of miracles. Many people who have had an encounter with God and recognize it, rarely remain the same. A life changed to one of joy and peace, regardless of daily challenges, is proof of Divine Intervention. But the experience of the Divine is often hard to articulate in limited human words that fall short and insufficient. Also, it is sometimes difficult to tell others, fearing ridicule. It all sounds too crazy.   

Debbie and Anna have never doubted miracles, perhaps because Debbie grew up with a single mother of three little ones and Anna with missionary parents who prayed expectantly for God's provision.  And Debbie’s dear mother and Anna’s loving parents were always quick to thank God and give Him Glory when He provided for their needs. Debbie’s mother's and Anna’s parents’ life-long devotion to God and their testimony have pointed to a Loving God who showed up in astounding ways! As children, they both watched and listened with wide eyes of assurance and anticipation.

We’ve seen and read and heard too many testimonies over our lifetime to doubt the existence of miracles, but not until Debbie’s fourth decade did she become astutely aware of her first personal Encounter with the Holy God. Debbie is sure there were earlier ones, but God was finally waking her up to a life-shattering, authentic, unshakeable faith in a personal, loving and redemptive God. And since that first miracle more than sixteen years ago, she has been the recipient of others.

Anna’s first very personal experience of the miraculous came as her mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme and she palpably felt the peace of God descend, after more than twenty years of fleeing what she thought was an angry, punitive God. And later it came in inexplicable and very specific answers to prayers and in her astounding experience of God's Presence during a therapy session for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. People can deny miracles, and many do, but what we share, and what others seeking Truth share, we are confident, are true.

Why have we, as well as countless others, been blessed with miracles? We don't know the answer. But because He has shown up in our lives in extravagant ways, we know without a doubt that God exists and that He takes great pleasure in drawing near to and communicating with us.

Join us in the coming 30 days as we share stunning testimonies of God showing up in powerful and intimate ways to encourage, comfort, open up to belief and alter the course of people’s lives. Yes, God is still in the business of “miraculous intercession with the laws of nature”. We pray that as you read along with us that God will draw near to you too, revealing Himself in a very personal way through these powerful testimonies to His very real presence, love, kindness, compassion and power.

Please feel free to share your own stories in the comments each day. Or if you prefer, you can private message them to Anna or me. We can share them anonymously. We are His Witnesses. God has written our testimonies and He has given them power.