All About Power
The end result of letting the
self “be wronged” and “cheated” is a clean and humble heart, which occurs
because we’ve picked up our cross and followed Jesus, who also claimed to have
a meek and humble of heart. What isn’t so well known is that along our journey
of loss “to win Christ” (Phil. 3:8), comes our “rereward” (Isaiah 52:12; 58:8),
meaning that God takes up our cause or, in today’s slang, God has our back!
For
the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard
(Isaiah 52:12 NKJV).
The following testimonies
show how God had my back. They may not seem “earth shattering” to you, but to
me they were; and perhaps God starts us off “small” because we’re new to this journey
of loss. By the way, “to choose to lose” is something that churches don’t teach
us about, yes?
1.
My upstairs
neighbor always dusts her dirty rug over the railing around three in the
morning so she won’t get caught breaking the house rules. My daughter wanted to
retaliate but I said “No, better not to make enemies where you lay your head”.
Instead, I made certain to sweep up the neighbor’s red hair, empty peanut
shells, and yes, her husband’s cigarette butts because it was also the house
rules that we are responsible to keep our area clean. One day, as I was walking
down the stairs, she was walking up. Suddenly, she slipped and went on bended
knee before me. She was so embarrassed that she quickly got up and ran up the
stairs. I thought nothing of it until the next example:
2.
A person tried to
trick me to accompany his mother to a meeting to learn about her Alzheimer’s
disease because he was too lazy to go himself. Since I confront dark motives and
bring them into the light, he did not appreciate it. He took offense and started
to shove me. When I wouldn’t let his lame excuses go, he shoved me out of his
mother’s apartment and yelled filthy names at me, warning me not to come to his
house again. Months passed after that incident occurred, yet I was quick to let
the anger go; I only wanted to please God, you see. So I forgave him from my
heart. What I did not know was that he was getting into frequent car accidents.
At a family gathering, someone mentioned his bad luck. It was not until he had
to walk pass where I was sitting that God got my attention. It was a dry, sunny
day; yet, he slipped on one knee before me; and like the neighbor had done
before, he quickly got up. As he reached for the item he was after, God said to
me, “Apologize”. Since God knew my heart was clean, I think he wanted me to apologize
because this person couldn’t. So, as he made to leave, I called him to come.
When he did, I hugged him and told him I was sorry. I continued to hold him until
I felt his shoulders relax. Then he said, “That’s okay”. We were good after
that and those frequent car accidents stopped.
Perhaps you were looking for
“real” power? My grandson and I were walking to the mall one day. Suddenly, we
happened upon a dog that was hidden by a detour sign which someone in a parked
van had placed on the sidewalk. Just as suddenly, another dog inside the van
began barking, and that prompted the sidewalk-dog to join in. My grandson was
scared and near to tears with fright. As I looked inside the van, two people
were smiling at us. Obviously, they weren’t going to do anything about this. I
redirected my grandson to a farther, safer place. The dogs were deafening by
this time, barking after us and even growling. For some reason, I looked up to
the sky, sighed, and made a motion with my hands to throw power to the dogs
that they might be muffled. Yep. We heard a yelp and a whine. Then silence. The
occupants of the van slid the door shut and drove away with their dogs.
I
think Christians who retaliate and look for justice either through the courts,
or by accusatory threats…well, they get their reward, don’t they? As for me and
my household, we continue to serve the Lord.
Note: I’ve discovered that strangers on the internet have
claimed that my blog has “vicious malware”. No doubt this was to keep visitors
away. (Mahalo to the hero who complained over what these guys were doing. May God raise you up over them and prosper you.) Then I noticed that my blog had been relegated away from popular urls,
where no one could possibly chance upon it to read it. No problem. God has
been known to use unbelievers to send his people signs to move on—remember
Pharaoh? I can also read the signs. So, to my visitors/readers, a fond “aloha” and a
warm “mahalo” for your support. This blog is pau, completed, finished. Facebook you’re up!
