MORE ON HIM MONDAY #2
I had chosen Him In My Life for that first one because I KNOW God was very much at work in our lives. Now I am choosing to write about Scripture Speaks.
This is a very familiar verse that most mothers claim as they are raising their little ones. I know I did. Then when David left it became even dearer to me and I stood in faith on the words "when he is old". Believing with all my heart that the final chapters had not yet been written in any of my children's lives.
Then on January 1, 1987 the Lord gave me a new verse:
"Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for they work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Jeremiah 31:16 & 17
The part that REALLY spoke to me was, "they shall come again from the land of the enemy." and "thy children shall come again to their own border." I knew that my children were in the land of the enemy but they would come "from" it and return to "their own border", come back to God.
I stood firmly on these two scriptures from that point: Proverbs 22:6 and Jeremiah 31:16-17.
Then on May 13, 2001, as I was meditating on Jeremiah, a piece of the scripture just jumped off the page at me. "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears"!!!! Don't you just love the way you can be so familiar with scripture and then the Lord gives you totally new revelation on that very scripture? What a God we serve.
As these words jumped off that page I KNEW what God was saying to me was, "you have been crying to me about this for 14 1/2 years......quit crying, wipe your tears and begin rejoicing in what I am doing". WOW!!!
Can I tell you that in the following 6 years I never shed a tear over David and my other 3 children? No! But I can tell you they have been few and far between and when I prayed I was no longer weeping and pleading before the Lord, but was indeed rejoicing, thanking him and standing firm on "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN" Hebrews 11:1
I trust the Lord has lead me to share Jeremiah 31: 16 & 17 and my story with you today. To all of us, who's children are not making Jesus the LORD of their lives, I know the Lord is saying, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND." Ephesians 6;13
IT IS ON GOD'S WORD AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS THAT I STAND
Thanks to Diana, at Sunshine on my Shoulder, for hosting More Of Him Mondays. Clink on her site, check it out, write your post and then go back and sign up with Mr. Linky and bless the rest of us with what God is doing in your lives
30 comments:
I definitely stand firm on the proverbs verse - but Jeremiah is an excellent addition! So much is happening in your life right now Susan and it is reaching so many - it is so awesome.
And I can relate to a verse you've heard over and over, bringing something new to your heart.
In case you don't know - you are such an encouragement to me as I raise my young children - you are such a source of strength and wisdom. May God continue to richly bless you for your commitment to Him and your desire to serve Him - for sharing so much of yourself with us!
What a journey in prayer for your children. I am so blessed by what you have shared. I can identify with what you've been through and where you are now because I have seen and heard my mother wrestling in prayer for my brother. He is 52 now and she is at a place where she is also thanking God for bringing him back from the enemy's territory.
you words, once again, are such an encouragement. i can see why those two pieces of scripture would have been your lifeline. and how exciting to see how God was faithful.
i have not been able to stop thinking about david's and your story. for those of you reading this but haven't read susan's previous post, the prodigal son returns, you need to read it.
i keep wondering how i would handle such a situation. how do non-christians handle such a thing? it brings tears to my eyes thinking of how you and mickey would have felt during the time when you didn't know where david was.
i praise God for watching over david all these years and bringing him home to his parents and his faith. there must have been quite the party in heaven that day. (sorry so long)
Beautiful way to follow up the post on David. We can really learn from your example.
Thank you for such a living testimony for us all:)
This goes along with our sermon this weekend....our prayers do not change God's will....they bring our hearts into line with his purpose....allowing us to receive God's mercies.
That is exactly where I stand also, Susan. Thanks for the great post. connie from Texas
Awesome scriptures filled with insight and wisdom.
So neat to see them being fulfilled in your life and that of your family as well as an encouragement to those reading along.
Stop by - I have given you an award.
We know God's Word does not return void. We stand strong on His promises and although we are just learning this whole process we do believe that our child is His and she will return as well!!!
Thank you Susan for sharing right from your heart. Standing on God's promises, we will not fall. Praise the Lord!
I'm so thankful you had the Word of God to guide you and comfort you through those tumultous years. You have such life experiences to help you be the mentor that you are to so many of us. May God continue to bless you my dear friend.
I love that Susan. I am standing on several scriptures right now as well and can not wait to tell the story of how the promises were fulfilled.
That's amazing Susuan. Thank you! I have been in the weeping "God, hear this mother's heart" mode. Maybe I need to reevaluate!
Thanks so much for your words in your post. I had read Jeremiah before and that verse just had not stood out to me until today. You are so strong in your Faith. You have been a blessing for me today. Thanks Again!
I love Jeremiah. My favorite, personal verse is Jer 29:11-13. Thank you for posting such encouragement!
Hugs to you!
I am so touched by your story and David's story. Since I'm fairly new to Penless Writer I went to all of the "here's."
You are truly a living letter for Christ.
Thank you so much for bringing those verses together for us. It is simply AWESOME to read what God is doing in your family ~ He truly is a faithful God!
Great post - thank you for being a great example . .
Thank you for sharing that scripture. A friend of mine is really struggling with this issue. We've quoted several scriptures, but I don't think this was one of them!
I'm a little behind in blogs, so I'm reading backwards. I'm going to read the first part of this story now.
Another great post Susan. I can't begin to tell you how certain scriptures have saved and comforted me.
Hugs!
Kat
Another great post.
Love the train up a child in a way he should go and he will not depart from it. So true.
You are so faithful and such a great inspiration to me.
shooo weee.....
it's almost more than my brain can hold tonight.
Thank you for sharing all of David's story. You are a blessing!
I will be sharing David's story and your blog with a friend of mine who's daughter is Bipolar and shares many of your experiences.
OH yeah, Preach on, my favorite online Preacher-lady!
love you!
To see a promise fulfilled is always so amazing to me. I know, when the LORD speak it is!
Still to live through the deep valleys to get to the bright promise in reality.
I have not words to say what an awesome thing it is.
I rejoice with you! that the greatest victory has been won.
Oh, your comments go so perfectly with our sermon on prayer yesterday at church. Thank you for sharing your story. You are such an encouragement to me. ((( HUGS )))
It's just beautiful! All of it. And such an encouragement to me since I have not yet entered the "departing" phase and are still in the "training" phase.
I love the Jeremiah verse and have not thought of it in regards to my kiddos before. Thank you for sharing.
Rejoicing with you!
The Lord has not only blessed you with wisdom, but with strength of the heart!
God Bless you!!!!
0:) Amber
Thank you for sharing the way God showed those verses to you. My older son is so far from the Lord and I cant pray without crying. I need to rejoice in what the Lord is doing in his life..that is true faith, isnt it?
=) Thats the most solid foundation I know- unshakable, immovable rock...the living Word
I left a note to you on my blog - in response to the comment you left me. Thanks for sharing.
I too have a couple of kids that have/are going astray. I know that heartache. In my case the "camp of the enemy" is my ex husband and their father. He has left the faith and wants to drag the kids with him. After almost 13 years, you'd think my girls would be wiser than they are. But at 13 and 17, they just seem to want to go his way. Only my 15 1/2 ds seems to want to stay true to our faith.
I too am holding onto the promises made to me and to them. But we can't force them, they have to want it for themselves. It's the waiting out the "wanting it for themselves" part that is so hard. And I worry about any potential children they may have. How much those little ones would suffer because of their mommy being led astray by grandpa.
I've figured out that what an older friend tells me is true. Turn it over to the Lord, then don't take it back! After all, they were HIS children first.
Darlene
Thanks for inviting me to read this. I had read it when you first posted it, too....but I think I was too emotional to comment at that point. What a great testimony to God's grace....the way He protects our hearts and minds while we go through this stuff with our kids. My husband was a prodigal in his family. His parents were steadfast in prayer and the Lord moved in his life when he was 21. It's good to remember these testimonies of God's faithfulness in the lives of our children.
Thanks,Susan!
Karen in Michigan
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