The Gospel

The Lord has really been stirring my heart, the power of the Gospel and challenging me in my belief about what the Lord is truly capable of accomplishing in a person's life. I attend Bayou City Fellowship every Sunday that I can. EVERY single time I am able to go, the Lord uses the pastor and worship team to stir in my heart and reinforce the power of Jesus. Every week the gospel is presented at some point and almost guaranteed I can count on being challenged to share the good news with someone, if not at least 3 people that week.

My job is my current outlet for sharing the gospel. For my job, I am parenting elementary girls from a number of backgrounds. I am only 9 months into parenting. I did not get to start with them as babies, but got them 8-10 years into their life and I have minimal knowledge about their life before Boys and Girls Country.

I have one girl in particular that challenges me. She struggles to forgive herself. She is deeply hurting and as a result, "bleeds onto others" and it is not pretty, nor is it easy to deal with. She can become very verbal and physical when upset and you never know what will upset her. In all of this, it is really easy to bogged down with behavior and not to see that the behavior is simply on outward expression of an inward struggle.

She is lost. She is drowning in a sea of unforgiveness. She is clutching onto her anger as she is erecting walls high and deep to cut herself off from those who love and care for her. She is wounded and goes into "fight and flee" mode when it seems like someone is getting through her defenses.

Only the Lord can set her free.

I know this in my head, but do I act on it? Do I share with her the gospel--the good news that she can be free from her bondage and forgiven her sins? No. I deal with her behavior and get frustrated when she just seems to be escalating in aggressiveness. I get frustrated when her issues do not miraculously disappear.

This past Sunday morning started with this girl making poor choices and the other girls setting the alarm off to report what is going on. We come from our personal quarters, turn the alarm off, and deal with the girl. We end up calling the Sherriff. I barely have time to change from my pajamas before the deputies arrive. When they leave, I look at the clock and dash out the door to church at Bayou City.

I get to church and the Lord provides encouragement by placing a woman of God who understands my job situation and who is able to offer encouragement. I go to the service and it is all about the Good News. It is about the power of Christ and what His death has accomplished. As is usual on a Sunday morning, we are challenged to share the Good News with the lost and dying world. To share with them the way to freedom from the bondage of sin. This entire time, the Lord is stirring in me a heart to share the gospel with this one girl who is lost and dying in her sin.

By the end of church, I am determined to go home and share the gospel with her that day.

Do I do it? No, however, I start praying the Lord will provide an opportunity.

Be careful what you pray for!

It is now a few days later and once again this girl is struggling to make good choices. As she is struggling, she is getting physical and nothing seems to be able to calm her down for more than a few minutes. Several hours into this, I finally very directly start questioning her about her heart issues. This opens a door to share the gospel with her. The breakthrough in her calming down is not when I dealt with her behavior, but when I addressed the spiritual issue.  Once she was calm and after talking about Christ's power, I was then able to encourage her with a song the Lord had given me for this girl. After all that, we were able to deal with the behavior in a way that was constructive.

This girl still has a way to go before she releases her anger, forgives herself, and opens her heart to love the Lord is lavishing upon her. Do I believe He can work on her heart sooner than later? Absolutely. Do I believe He has the power to free her from her bondage? Absolutely. Do I believe He can accomplish it instantaneously if He chooses? Absolutely.

If you think of it, pray for this girl. She is not closed to God, however, she is not able to embrace Him as she feels she does not deserve His love or anyone else's. She is trying to earn it. Tonight she prayed and asked the Lord to help her in her unbelief--to help her believe she is worthy of His love and His forgiveness.

Who in your life is screaming out for the transforming work of Christ?
Do you only see their outward behaviors or do you see their cry for God?
Are you willing to share the good news of the transforming work of Christ with them?