Protect Your Witness - Sunday October 26, 2014
From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Psalm 61:2 NLT
I recently received probably the most encouraging card I have ever been given. My close friend said of me, "I know Satan is attacking you along the way, and the battle is hard. Satan hates you, Kelley, because your very life, your laugh, your joy, your family, and your ministry are all symbols of his failure. What he has tried to use to destroy your witness of God's love and truth, you have laid at the cross and drawn ever closer to Jesus."
When I read that, I thought about a very sad time in my life. Mike and I miscarried our first baby at 20 weeks. After having already seen our little guy bouncing around on an ultrasound it was shocking to go in for a routine visit and not find a heartbeat. By God's grace we were able to deliver him and hold him before we buried him.
I remember being overwhelmed with the thought of how we would say hello and goodbye all in the same moment. But there is something deeper that I remember even more clearly. I remember going to church on Sunday morning, sitting in the very last row, crying, and worshiping God: "You give and take away, yet my heart will choose to say, blessed be the name of the Lord." I am so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to choose Him as my God in the midst of sorrow that deep.
God has used that loss in my life as a witness to the people around me. I'm so thankful that where I'm sure Satan wanted to plant bitterness, God and I grew faith.
Submitted by:
Kelley Downie
Cedarcreek Community Church
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
One-Year Reading Plan:
Jeremiah 49:23-50:46
Titus 1:1-16
Psalms 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 26:13-16
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.