How Confident Are You?

I mentioned in our blog post on Monday (“Change and Joy” – 5/7/18) that Piper and I rocked the “family tradition boat” more than just a few times over the years!  Since I was the last of the three kids to marry and have a family, I think it was easier for my parents to accept changes by the time Piper and I started to carve our family niche in life.  Piper though, was the oldest child in the family and was therefore the first to shake the “way we’ve always done it” syndrome. 

But like I’ve stated on many occasions, Piper was always a very confident individual.  When she found herself interested in something she would check it out, do some personal investigation with a trip to the library or bookstore (this was before internet access!) and usually made a few calls to people she knew or had heard were knowledgeable in her subject of interest.

Like back in the early 1980’s when she enjoyed baking fresh bread every few days… and Oh… do I miss that delicious bread!  One day she read an article by a Christian woman who discussed the advantages (nutritional value, freshness and lack of opportunity to go rancid, to name a few…) to grinding your own grain as compared to the quality of the flours on the store shelf.  This interested her as she was always watchful that we eat the best food and followed a wholesome diet.  So, she investigated the claims the author was making, found them to be truthful… and went out and purchased a manual grain grinder!  And you know… her delicious bread tasted even better with the fresher ingredients.

We enjoyed fresh baked bread for quite some time until four kids, homeschooling, ministry and life in general edged her baking off the calendar… but we still have that grinder!  Who knows…  If you come over someday, you might find me grinding some grain into flour and using the bread baking machine that a good friend gave to Piper many years ago!

Piper loved and respected her parents.  She especially adored her Dad.  But her Dad, at times, could be very set in his ways.  So, when changes were suggested to time honored family traditions, he was not always receptive to them.  But Piper had a way about her with that big smile, joyful disposition and gentle humor that got through to him!  And like I said previously, she also had a humble but yet confident air about her that was contagious to others.  It was a side of Piper that I don’t think her family ever quite realized about her.

It’s almost hard to explain, but when she was confident about an idea, plan or course of action, she had a look, or more like a glow of anointing that NEVER caused me to be anxious or concerned about what new adventure that she (or we as a family) were about to embark on!  In fact, for me, just the opposite was true, as I would find myself excited and expectant about the direction we were taking.

I found myself thinking about all this toward the end of my personal Bible study yesterday morning.  And as I perused the thought in my mind, I suddenly found my hands thumbing through my Bible looking for a scripture that summed up my feelings about my wife’s confidence… and BAM!  There it was…

I John 5:14-15 declares: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 

Piper’s confidence in whatever she did was based on the truth of these two verses.  She was confident in life because she was confident in the truth of God’s Word working for her in whatever she set out to do.  Like I’ve also stated on many occasions, Piper knew/knows the Word!  When we were first dating back in high school, she would explain the Word to me in such a way that it brought deep peace to my hungry heart and understanding and meaning to the practical things in life that we were experiencing at that time.

With every step she took, she first invited God to be a partner with her in the process.  In other words, He was her confidence!  That is why she almost always had a smile on her face, a bounce in her step and just the right word of encouragement at just the right time flowing from her lips.  That’s how she was a great representation of Philippians 4:4 where the Apostle Paul (when he was in prison no-less) instructed us to “Always be joyful in the Lord! I'll say it again: Be joyful!” (God’s Word ©)

Earlier this week as I was getting ready to turn out the bedroom light for the night, I found myself thinking about many of the different things that we have experienced and the rough times we have had since receiving Piper’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in 2009.  I guess that I might have been feeling a little sorry for myself and felt a strong sadness for some who in my eyes, deserted Piper in her greatest time of need.

Then I gazed up at my image in one of the two mirrors in the master bath where I was standing and quietly sought the Lord asking Him about the validity of my saturating Piper with His Word throughout each and everyday for the last ten years.  And within an instant of time everything that I’ve been writing about above flashed through my mind along with the understanding of how much Piper loved, studied, taught and depended on the Word for everything she did in life… and I heard myself speaking aloud in the dark in our bathroom boldly declaring that “I will NEVER abandon Piper by NOT continually speaking out and confessing with great conviction, expectation and faith, the truth and power of God’s Word over her!  For it is what she would expect me to do in this greatest time of need.  For God’s Word is her peace, her standard, her power and the life-giving source of her very being!”

So yea… Whether she may physically acknowledge me or the Word being spoken over her, it is EXACTLY what she needs!  Today, when I look at her, I don’t see the way that this disease has attached itself to her and changed her lovely appearance… what I see is a strong, confident and joyful woman of God jumping for joy on the inside and shouting “Praise the Lord, Glory to God!” – Just like I’ve heard her proclaim on many occasions as I’ve stood at her side in church, ministering in front of the countless youth and kids over the years, in prayer and praise times alone with her or conversing with family, parents, relatives and friends.

Kind of makes me want to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice!” (KJV) 

How about you?

Have a great weekend, and as you do, make sure that you NEVER abandon your faith, your joy, your trust and your expectation in the Lord and the truth of His Word!  In fact, ask yourself throughout the weekend… “How expectant and/or confident in God and His Word am I today?”