I begin with a story. Just this week at work, I was treated to a verbal love-fest by my coworkers. I don’t know what prompted them to give such gracious compliments to me that day (you’d think it was my first day back from work after being away for months due to my illness; not so). What took the cake, what blew me away really, was when one manager remarked, “Did you guys feel that? When Kevin walked in, the whole room seemed to change; suddenly there was a great calm.” I responded with something like, “I sure hope that’s true.”
Let me be crystal clear: this story isn’t me parading how
great I consider myself. I can already
hear the cynic saying, “Kevin takes a three-week sabbatical and now it’s all
about him.” No, may it never be. May I never be that delusional or arrogant! In fact, if I wasn’t so surprised by those kind
words, I would have said, “Give glory to God; that’s all Him, not me.” This is nothing more than a testimony to God
bearing the fruit of peace in my life (see Galatians 5:22). It is supernatural peace and tranquility, from
the Holy Spirit, in a difficult season in my life.
You see, for the past year and a half or so, life has been
a constant barrage of storm after storm.
There’s the physical ailment that put me in the hospital for a few days. Or I could talk about the two instances of
vicious words that cut me like I knife, and injured me deeply (I choose forgiveness and love, not bitterness and hate, but the scars
will remain with me forever); there’s also the multiple cases of injustice and theft that occurred against me. Or, how about considering
the car wreck that completely totaled a beloved family vehicle? No one was hurt that day, quite miraculously,
but the stress remains. The point I’m
getting at is this: in the midst of all that chaos and stress, God displayed
the fruit of supernatural peace in my life to the point that a coworker alluded
to it. Give God the glory!
As I transition to the next portion of this, someone recently
asked me what my favorite movie is.
While it’s a difficult question when you consider all the categories and
movie genres there are, I answered that no one could top 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”. What struck me after the conversion – I basically
played the movie in my head soon after it – was the transformation of the main
villain at the end of the film. Doctor
Octopus was guilty of heinous crimes, but in the end, he sacrificed himself to
save the city. He died a hero. It’s a reminder for us that anyone can
change.
In my case, God’s grace entered my life when I was just 6
years old. The Lord used Billy Graham at
a crusade to convince me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior named
Jesus. God changed me that day; to use
the words of a pastor who had a similar experience: He changed me not only from
who I was, but who I would have become.
However, that was just the beginning.
Only God knew that life would eventually include such incredible pain
and difficulty, whether you want to cite the unexpected death of my father, or
any other fiery crucible that occurred after.
Today, I see that I’m so far from perfect, but the Lord has been with
me, no matter what. As the group
Elevation worship sings, “He’s been my fourth man in the fire, time after time.”
Your story may differ from mine. Maybe, like Doctor Octopus, you have gone down a
dark path. But, I wholeheartedly believe
that it’s not too late. If there’s
breath, there’s hope. Today can be your
transformation day. Like Doc Ock, you
can ultimately be remembered for your honor and virtue. The God of the universe named Jesus can
completely revolutionize your life, and put you on an entirely new path. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His
name.” Believe in and receive Him today.
God bless,
Kevin
No comments:
Post a Comment