My life has not been easy but with each difficult time I have encountered, God has been gracious enough to surround me with good Christian friends. Friends who listen and sometimes give sage advice. Friends who allow me to cry but always try to make sure the crying turns into a smile. I am very thankful for the friends I have in my life and I consider each one of you that is reading this blog to be a friend of mine. However, when a friend is a comfort to me, I rarely can pass that comfort to someone else who has trials and difficulties.
Recently I realized that the comfort of my friends has been rewarding but the comfort of God’s Word supersedes any experience I have encountered. I have shared with my audience about a time I was back home with my family of origin when I felt as if I was an outcast. Recently I arranged another reunion with my family and I did not feel so awful. I think families are sometimes the hardest bunch of people to figure out but I still love my family.
I was so distraught after that one family gathering that I turned to God’s Word and turned right to Psalms 45:10: “Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house.” That was such a comfort to me in that very moment. I just love God because every time the world tells me I am unlovable He opens wide His arms of grace and mercy and essentially gives me the biggest bear hug ever.
Well I have kept that verse hidden in my heart and I have cherished it. This past Friday night I went to a Messianic service at my church to learn about Hanukkah. I am very interested in the history of Christianity and seek to learn more about Judaism in order to understand my Saviour in a deeper way.
After the service they serve delightful refreshments and I noticed a young lady while I was getting coffee. She had a beauty to her that was from her heart and she reminded me of a former friend of mine who had been a mentor to me. I didn’t say anything to her but I did notice her. I started talking with some other ladies and then followed a new friend into the bookstore because she wanted to look at a book that our Pastor had penned. We were both reading that book when God gave me a second chance to talk to the pretty lady I had noticed earlier. Except she was crying in the bookstore. I looked at her and realized that she was crying tears of joy because one of the pastors had decided to gift her a lot of books from the bookstore. It was such a delight to see that my church would do that for a young lady. Just love that!
I started talking to her and she was so wonderful that she opened up to both me and my new friend immediately. She said she had come from Sri Lanka and had been a muslim. She had recently accepted Christ as her Saviour and was hearing from God on a regular basis. This dear woman just glowed! She was so happy to be a Christian. It was such a wonderful occasion for God to allow me to meet her. We talked some about her previous life when she was a muslim and she said that she had told her family recently that she had given her life to Christ and that they had disowned her. We talked some more and then God brought the verse from Psalms 45:10 to my mind. I felt as if He wanted me to share this with her. I showed it to her in the new Bible that the Church had given her and I do believe the verse ministered to her. She said she would pray over that verse in the evening when she went home.
God’s Word has such power and is so magnificent. The Bible is Holy and Righteous in intent and purpose and the fact that it could dry my tears and comfort a new friend of mine with the same verse is just so wonderful. I want to spend more time reading and studying the scripture because I think it is important that my heart is full to the brim with verses that I cherish not only for my comfort but for the comfort of others.
