Written and posted by Jean-Louis. 2/2012
The following Sunday after church, my sponsor friend who had become my spiritual mother leading me to the Lord, and I were eating in a restaurant. We were finishing our dessert and I thought it a propitious moment to show her my newly acquired Bible and shared with her the surrounding events that led to my receiving this precious gift.
While leafing through the first pages containing the personal family information of the owner, she exclaimed: “the name of the owner is the same as the man´s sitting at a table not far from ours. I know that man”. Piqued with curiosity and a little overwhelmed by the strange sequence of fortuitous, incredible events happening in such a short time, I got up and introduced myself. Asking him if he recognized the Bible, his face beamed with surprise mixed with emotional intensity as if he had recognized a long lost friend. He replied: “This Bible belongs to me and my family. We lost it 25 years ago.”
I sat down to explain the amazing story of how it came in my possession. He listened carefully even more awestruck than I was as I related to him an outline of my spiritual journey and the details of my past week´s adventure and God´s providential instruction in leading the way and teaching me in a real and unmistakable manner.
As I told him that I was happy to have found his Bible and handing it to him, he graciously offered me to keep it as a token of God´s loving kindness and care to all involved. He was obviously touched by this testimony of God´s acting on the behalf of his children.
I leave it up to you to see the hand of God in all this and the resulting blessings in the lives of the ones involved. I am sure every one of us was changed in some way. I am also certain that these encounters were the results of personal questions and doubts about the reality of faith and providence of God and answers to prayers.
What happened to that big black Bible? I don´t know where it is right now or how God used it. I gave it to a friend in college as a witness and encouragement after telling him the wonderful story behind it.
Personally, this experience served to solidify in a very real and concrete way the foundations on which my faith is based and provided a pillar of remembrance for times of discouragement, weakness and doubts. Later on as I became more familiar with the scriptures, I found passages and verses confirming my life experiences of the reality and truth of the revelation of a loving Father to his children. I can trust his word as the eternal, unchanging truth, a sure light guiding me on the way. I can trust the Spirit´s promptings as the voice of my Shepherd because and when it aligns and concurs with his written word and is confirmed by several witnesses.
One of those verses is Isaiah 55:10-13: "10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
I thank and praise God my Father and my Lord Jesus-Christ for his mercy, his grace and his enduring loving kindness to us his children and the abundant blessings that he bestows on us every day without any merit on our part. Bless his Holy Name forever.
Jean-Louis.
The following Sunday after church, my sponsor friend who had become my spiritual mother leading me to the Lord, and I were eating in a restaurant. We were finishing our dessert and I thought it a propitious moment to show her my newly acquired Bible and shared with her the surrounding events that led to my receiving this precious gift.
While leafing through the first pages containing the personal family information of the owner, she exclaimed: “the name of the owner is the same as the man´s sitting at a table not far from ours. I know that man”. Piqued with curiosity and a little overwhelmed by the strange sequence of fortuitous, incredible events happening in such a short time, I got up and introduced myself. Asking him if he recognized the Bible, his face beamed with surprise mixed with emotional intensity as if he had recognized a long lost friend. He replied: “This Bible belongs to me and my family. We lost it 25 years ago.”
I sat down to explain the amazing story of how it came in my possession. He listened carefully even more awestruck than I was as I related to him an outline of my spiritual journey and the details of my past week´s adventure and God´s providential instruction in leading the way and teaching me in a real and unmistakable manner.
As I told him that I was happy to have found his Bible and handing it to him, he graciously offered me to keep it as a token of God´s loving kindness and care to all involved. He was obviously touched by this testimony of God´s acting on the behalf of his children.
I leave it up to you to see the hand of God in all this and the resulting blessings in the lives of the ones involved. I am sure every one of us was changed in some way. I am also certain that these encounters were the results of personal questions and doubts about the reality of faith and providence of God and answers to prayers.
What happened to that big black Bible? I don´t know where it is right now or how God used it. I gave it to a friend in college as a witness and encouragement after telling him the wonderful story behind it.
Personally, this experience served to solidify in a very real and concrete way the foundations on which my faith is based and provided a pillar of remembrance for times of discouragement, weakness and doubts. Later on as I became more familiar with the scriptures, I found passages and verses confirming my life experiences of the reality and truth of the revelation of a loving Father to his children. I can trust his word as the eternal, unchanging truth, a sure light guiding me on the way. I can trust the Spirit´s promptings as the voice of my Shepherd because and when it aligns and concurs with his written word and is confirmed by several witnesses.
One of those verses is Isaiah 55:10-13: "10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
I thank and praise God my Father and my Lord Jesus-Christ for his mercy, his grace and his enduring loving kindness to us his children and the abundant blessings that he bestows on us every day without any merit on our part. Bless his Holy Name forever.
Jean-Louis.
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