Yesterday was one of the toughest I’ve ever had in the ministry, because Satan was doing his dead level best to take out one of the FAM Fellowship members…BUT SATAN IS A LIAR AND A DEFEATED FOE AND GOD REIGNS! And despite his best efforts, yesterday was a VERY victorious day in many ways, even in the life of the member he was doing his best to destroy! There ARE times when the Word of God is ALL we have to hold onto, and yesterday was certainly such a day. So in all of my conversations with the woman who was under so much attack, the two verses I kept repeating to her over and over again were Proverbs 21:30, which assures us that There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. and Romans 8:28 (NASB), which says And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. And there’s no better way to face situations we can’t possibly understand or explain than relying heavily on Isaiah 55:8-11, because it says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 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, 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. So when the world seems to be crashing in around us, we CAN rely on these verses, just as we did yesterday. And just as He did yesterday, God will ALWAYS honor that kind of stand and confidence in His Word! BUT we have to believe that, NO MATTER WHAT WE SEE OR HEAR to the contrary!

Sharing all of the details of the battle waged is not appropriate here, but when one of our sisters was in desperate need yesterday and felt unable to stand for herself, I know the fasting and prayer support of our members and others is what kept her going, and God faithfully came through with some big miracles by the end of the day! A final divorce hearing didn’t end in divorce as scheduled, but another postponement, which was probably the fourth so far! And the same angry, confused and overwhelmed husband who had said a few hours earlier at the courthouse that he hated her and that she and his step children were not his family and he didn’t want anything to do with them, made a totally 180 degree turn! She was shocked to find him waiting at her house last night when she returned from the hospital, where her seven year old son has been hospitalized since Thursday because of numerous attempts to kill himself and aggressive behavior toward others for the past two weeks. She cried out to the Lord several times yesterday when we were praying and told Him she needed a break; that she just couldn’t take any more, and just as Jeremiah 33:3 promises, He heard her and answered her and showed her great and mighty things she did not know, including sending a deliverance minister to work with her little one last night! And how amazed we both were at the end of the day to realize that while she was crying so broken hearted on her way home from the hospital last night, GOD HAD ALREADY ANSWERED HER PRAYERS, and all her tears and despair were for nothing, because her husband was already sitting at her house waiting for her to come home; the Holy Spirit had already brought the conviction she was so desperately praying for! Little did we know when I was trying to encourage her by reminding her that none of this was a surprise to God; that He already had it ALL covered, just how true those words were! So that will always stand out in my memory as one of the most powerful examples of why we should never rely on our own understanding, but trust God with ALL of our hearts and acknowledge Him in ALL our ways, just like Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us! And that is exactly what she did her best to do. We just had no idea how fast He would work! And just as faithful as He was to deal with the other matters, we are totally confident that God WILL bring healing and restoration to her son’s body, heart, mind, soul and spirit in the name of Jesus! And this amazing testimony should be a reminder to all of us of Isaiah 65:24 (NJKV), which says “ It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

And even though that situation occupied a lot of my time yesterday, it was still an awesome day in the ministry too, because the devil was sent packing in several other works of restoration as well! One of our member’s husband, who is a fallen pastor, finally acknowledged his sin and has begun the process of calling out to the Lord in repentance and breaking off the relationship with the NCP. So we fully expect him to come home soon, especially since the person he is turning to for comfort and support is his wife! And NOTHING but the grace and power of God could enable her to do that for her husband! She has truly walked out the biblical principles of restoration and now she is witnessing the Lord’s faithfulness to bless and honor what has been a very humbling, difficult and challenging walk!

Then, last night, another one of our ladies sent me an email to let me know that her husband just dropped in unexpectedly for no apparent reason. And he kept looking at her (which he doesn’t usually do!) and even wanted to know what church she was going to, along with quite a few other interesting questions! I’m sure he’s quite curious to find out about this amazing woman who didn’t react to being served with divorce papers at all as he expected! Instead SHE asked for a meeting so they could work out the details themselves without going through lawyers, and didn’t fight him on anything he wanted. Instead she praised him and encouraged him and made it clear that she would be fine, but she would honor their marriage vows no matter what he needed to do for himself. And then yesterday when she told him that she believed God would heal and restore their relationship, he even said she might be right! And nothing could be further from that than what he’s been saying! ONLY GOD! ONLY GOD!

And one of our ladies posted a very encouraging message as she described how the Lord is working to soften her husband’s heart, which he is demonstrating with small acts of affection and beautiful words of praise and edification! And this is after being emotionally checked out on their marriage for many years! So the Holy Spirit is working a great work of restoration there too!

The obvious reason for sharing the testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to hear and answer our prayers is to increase our faith and confidence as we stand for the restoration of our marriages, and to remind us that NO MATTER HOW IMPOSSIBLE OR HOPELESS OUR SITUATIONS LOOK, God IS IN CONTROL, and HIS will is going to be done no matter what plans any man or woman or Satan or demonic spirit has! And the testimony of how God worked for one of our ladies yesterday shows us that just as Isaiah 65:24 tells us, He even answers BEFORE we call! How I wish I had recalled that scripture yesterday, especially since I had just received it Saturday in the following email message titled: Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call, I will answer”. So be blessed and encouraged as you remember that and read the following story!

Subject: STORY – ISAIAH 65: 24 “BEFORE THEY CALL, I WILL ANSWER.”

Some of you may have seen this before, but it is a good story to help us remember that God sees our needs before we even know we have them. We should always remember that “God will not lead us to anything that faith in Him cannot bring us through.” Enjoy!

This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa.

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. “All right,” I said, “put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.”

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.” While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?” As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen”. I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns for the weekend Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the…..could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out – yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!” Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: “Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.”

“Before they call, I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24)

Posted Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 at 12:44 pm in Seeds Of Faith.