Popular Post Seasoned by Grace Posted August 25, 2019 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 27 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 309 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 350 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/07/2019 Status: Offline Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) A member here asked me to give a testimony to a trial I had 15 YEARS AGO that I mentioned in a response to a thread earlier this week. This was a "TRIAL BY FIRE" to know God personally and know He is "REAL"! . I have learned over 41 years that My Christian growth and many other Christians, including men in the bible study I attend, grow the most when God either allows or causes trials to come our way several times in our life, to shape us and grow us into the person He wants us to be for His purpose and plan for each of us. 20 years ago life fell apart for me and I lost everything in my life. My family, my job, my home, and most of my other worldly possessions. It was my FIRST really major trial of this magnitude. At 55 years old I found myself facing starting life all over again from square one, with nothing but a fair size bank account and a car. I had been a believer in Christ for 21 years at that point, but starting over seemed "MONUMENTAL." To boot I had known about God and served him faithfully all those years, but there was NO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. Never was mentioned in church when I became a believer, but about a decade later the idea started filtering into the church as a new idea. It was mentioned periodically, but never really focused on as a teaching. It was kind of an underground thinking and mentioned in study groups sometimes. I don't think most of us really understood, as the idea was never expressed very clearly. At this stage I found a small furnished place to live and got settled in, but I was so angry at God and life. I felt like a victim and trapped in a situation I had no control over. I took a year off from life, no job on purpose, and tried to find my bearings and get stable so I could start over. I was a basket case emotionally. Even though I was angry with God, there was another part of me that allowed Him to stay in my life. Somehow I knew He was still there, I just had no idea what to do about Him being there. I was too distraught and bitter, but as time passed, people that I met liked me and wanted to be friends, so some of that sharp edge of anger starting smoothing out a bit and my focus started to change. One of the guys where I lived asked me to join him going downtown and feeding the homeless. It was good, and I continued on every Sunday for sometime. The place I went to feed the homeless was full of Christians, and just listening to them talk about their lives had an affect on me, and I started thinking about the God I knew about, but didn't know personally, and it bothered me because I didn't have what they did. They seemed joyful and content and at peace, something I never had all those 21 years of serving HIM, so I actually prayed about it, and poured my heart out to God, about wanting something real with Him and personal. Well, time passed and I found a good job, but not good enough, and soon I had changed jobs, and then I changed again. I was used to making good money and doing what I loved, so in a short time I was back in my chosen career doing really well and I had actually started going back to church. God was calling me back to Him, and I replied, but that lack of a personal relationship was still eating at me. One morning after It was bothering me for some time and I didn't sleep well for months, I woke up one morning and I had actually slept really well all night....and then I heard God speak to me. He said, "our relationship from the past was over, and I would learn to know Him personally and He would be real to me. That was the first time I ever heard Him speak to me, but there would be many, many more times. In a short time I had decided that I needed to do something to build a financial foundation for my future somehow, so I prayed, and God lead me into FLIPPING HOUSES. It was amazing how He provided so I could buy my first house and have enough in the bank to get a great start. I got an amazing deal on the house, it closed, and I was off and running. By this time I was asked by the elders and pastor to be in a leadership role to start a men's ministry, and I was elected to teach and lead a men's weekly bible study. I was busy working a job, re-doing a fixer upper, and a weekly bible study. My plate was full and life started becoming good again. THEN 15 YEARS AGO HAPPENED. I went to work one morning, and the owners wife came to me and said that her husband, the owner of the company, had died 2 days earlier, but asked me to stay. Very sad news, but I still had my job, BUT not long after I found out she had gone out and spent a ton of money, and the company was in trouble, and several of us were let go, and the economy was bad. I had money in the bank still and unemployment, and sure it wouldn't take long to get a job. A year later I was still looking, and my unemployment was coming to an end, and my bank account was almost nearly empty, and my house was only half done - THAT WAS SCARY. I had never called out to God like I did then, ever before - I WAS TERRIFIED, and no one to help me or fall back on. Was I going to lose my house? Was I going to become homeless, and loose everything again? But God came through miraculously, that time, and 3 more times when I ran out of money and even provided when my house went into foreclosure, I couldn't find a place to live, I had no income to find a home, no cash to get a place to live, because the house hadn't closed yet - totally broke and after all the stress I had a nervous breakdown, and was in the hospital, and no money to pay for any of the hospital. BUT.......................... .......each time I ran out of money, God provided. I was miraculously able to find a home I could buy, and pay cash, because God was still providing. I bought a home with no money - I was broke and moved into my own home and it was'nt paid for. I hired a moving company on the promise I would pay them. I bought the home on a promise I would pay them, when I was broke. God had taken me from a place of being TERRIFIED, to a place of absolute trust in Him, and in the middle of everything GOD STARTED BECOMING REAL TO ME, AND HE FORMED A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH ME like He had promised, and I was so much stronger in my faith, I was so much calmer, relaxed and at peace, because God PROVED to me He would always take care of me and protect me, and for the last 15 years He has done just that ..... as it says in Malachi 3:10 He says, "He will open the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need. I have no needs - and no bills. I OWN EVERYTHING AND I HAVE - NO DEBT. Through tremendous trials over and over, God became REAL to me, and loving and personal in ways I could always see, and taught me to be strong and trust in Him in peace, and not be terrified. These last 15 years God has continued to allow me to go through trials periodically, but there is a quiet resolve that "ALL IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, and always will be." REMEMBER, getting a house, being out of debt, and being at a place where there is no need isn't the story. This isn't a "PROSPERITY GOSPEL" story, this is only about a man with very little faith who God grew into the faith God was willing to give me as I trusted Him. Every persons story will be different, but it takes the same faith to move in to a relationship with God, and find the GOD that is REAL in His way as He reveals Himself to each of us in His own personal way to be close to you, as we trust HIM. DETAILS NOT MENTIONED The point of this wasn't to get caught up in the details of the why's and how's, but to focus on God and His activity in my life and how He became real and personal to me, and how I was strengthened by His provision and GRACE. I hope this helps anyone struggling with their faith as I was. ANY APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS GLADLY ANSWERED God bless everyone here as you travel this journey of faith and trust. - Oligos Edited January 26, 2020 by Seasoned by Grace 1 1 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiards Ball Posted August 26, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 5 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,502 Content Per Day: 0.66 Reputation: 662 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/05/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted August 26, 2019 THANK YOU. Blessings! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saved34 Posted August 28, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,185 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 667 Days Won: 3 Joined: 03/28/2012 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/19/1971 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Great story. Experience is what God uses to grow us. We mature through hard times and trials. Your testimony is a true testament to that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverwalker Posted September 2, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 92 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 2,054 Content Per Day: 0.60 Reputation: 1,753 Days Won: 4 Joined: 12/09/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted September 2, 2019 Hallelujah... God is real and personal for all of us, we just need to start looking beyond ourselves 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 We can only truly grow through trials and pain. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned by Grace Posted September 8, 2019 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 27 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 309 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 350 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/07/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 (edited) Thank you to everyone who posted replies . I hope it helped those who needed it to grow in their faith, as we all travel this road of faith together . Bless you all in Christ's LOVE - Oligos Edited January 26, 2020 by Seasoned by Grace 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailyprayerwarrior Posted September 8, 2019 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 219 Content Per Day: 0.13 Reputation: 284 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/03/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted September 8, 2019 Thanks for sharing this Dave! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Les Posted September 8, 2019 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 8 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 28 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/19/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted September 8, 2019 Thank you for the share. Yes, we grow best in trials don't we. Our family went through similar difficulty except no bank account and no car, so we went homeless for 40 months. You sure learn a lot when you have to trust in God for everything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned by Grace Posted September 9, 2019 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 27 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 309 Content Per Day: 0.18 Reputation: 350 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/07/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 (edited) On 9/8/2019 at 2:33 PM, Homer Les said: Thank you for the share. Yes, we grow best in trials don't we. Our family went through similar difficulty except no bank account and no car, so we went homeless for 40 months. You sure learn a lot when you have to trust in God for everything. God bless you for sharing your story. All these kind of real life events about God becoming real and personal in our trials will help when others experience their own trials as they come - and they will, more than once. Many blessings in Christ - Oligos Edited January 26, 2020 by Seasoned by Grace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prycejosh1987 Posted July 12, 2020 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,176 Content Per Day: 0.85 Reputation: 126 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/07/2020 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/29/1987 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Congratulations and God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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