Yesterday was a tough one!
With Piper’s Life Tribute*
running in our hometown newspaper, I got to interact with a lot of people, many
of whom I had not heard from in years. I
still stand amazed at the amount of lives that my lovely wife touched over the
years. It was a joy talking, texting,
emailing, or posting on Facebook with all those wonderful folks who took the
time to reach out to me and tell of their thoughts and unique experiences with
Piper.
But
you know… at the same time the finality of the absence of Piper’s
physical presence in my life was renewed with each conversation. But once again, even in her absence, Piper must
have thought about this as I was glad that I had a stockpile of napkins stored
away for when I used to help her with her meals. Let’s just say I used more
than a few of them yesterday…
On the positive side though, every time I would talk about
her with others or read and re-read her obituary, I would think about all of
the personal strengths that she employed on a daily basis in our life
together. The one that continually
popped up was her love of God’s Word and the way she naturally incorporated it
into every avenue of her life. She had a
way of simply folding a verse of scripture into her normal communications that
came across as natural as a person’s next breath. And the reason being, as I’ve shared many
times before, because it was just a part of who she was. It never came across as judgmental or scary,
but with joy and encouragement.
The memories of that joy
and encouragement is what kept
drawing me back to God’s Word yesterday whenever my emotions seemed to reach
difficult proportions. God’s word that
came to me shortly after Piper moved to her new home “to continue” kept coming
to me throughout the day and I found myself repeating my personalized version
of Proverbs 3:5-6 declaring;
“I continue to trust in you Lord with all
of my heart, and not rely on my own understanding of things. But in all of my ways I continue to acknowledge You, for You continue to be the One who keeps me on track.”
(God’s Word© & The Message personalized)
I read a quote yesterday evening from Kenneth E. Hagin, one
of the main generals of Piper’s and my faith that reminded me that “The
Spirit of faith is a spirit of victory!” And I couldn’t help but to nod my head and
say “Amen!” I can see today that it was that Spirit of
faith that Piper and I continuously sought to grow in our lives through our
ever-increasing time in God’s Word in the midst of the last eleven years with
the attack on Piper’s health, that kept us strong, in peace, with an expression
of joy and a constant expectation of God’s best.
During that time, we regularly encountered those who were
filled with fear, despair and hopelessness over our situation and I am so glad
that we chose to keep our eyes on a better answer… the love of God and the truth of His Word. And now?
Well, I have no better way to go than the Spirit of faith in this next
chapter of my life. I have no reason to
doubt that if it worked for us in - hands
down - the most difficult time in our lives… that it can and will work again
in this next phase! What do you think? Remember Hebrews 13:8 tells us that: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever.” (God’s Word©)
Well… my yesterday is gone and I’m moving into today and
forever with that promise held close to my heart… What about you?
Say this with me today… “I
am expecting the Spirit of Faith found in God and His Word to lead me to victory
today!”
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