AND EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL, ALWAYS
by Sharon Rondeau, submitted by a reader
(Jan. 6, 2011) — Some of you are aware that there has been a medical crisis with my dad for the past several months which has torn apart the family. A reader sent me the following last night which renewed my faith that God has ultimate control but works through people in wonderful ways.
To all of you who have expressed your support and prayers for my dad, I thank you. God will take him home in His time.
Dear Lord,
I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I’m blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.
Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God’s eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.
And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus’ example — to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It’s the best response when I’m pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can’t pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak.. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can’t find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don’t know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don’t believe. But I thank you that I believe.
I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..
This is my prayer.
In the name of your son, Jesus the Christ, Amen
Sharon, the best wishes to you and your family.
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Mrs. Rondeau replies: Thank you, Dan.
As a person of Eastern European descent, I am doubly blessed. I am Polish and celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Two weeks later I celebrate Russian Orthodox Christmas which is January 7th. Today is RO Xmas. May we all know that Christ will be with us “until the end of time”. He said this himself.
When one sees footprints next to them when they are walking, that is God walking alongside. When those footprints seem to disappear,that is when GOD is carrying us. (Paraphrased from the poem “Footprints”)
Amen Sharon! I ended up crying to the Lord today when HE put in my path a very wonderful, positive, surprise out of nowhere! My young son asked me if I was sad. I told him no son, God has given us a gift and all the recent, negative, events that have happened led up to this moment of the gift! HE is in control, HE will always provide us with what we need, and I love it when HE puts miracles in our lives! I witnessed a miracle today.
All the best wishes for a calm, peaceful heart for you. Thank you for sharing with us.
This is in a little pamphlet, taped inside my old bible.
The Touch of the Masters Hand
‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”; then two!” “Only two…
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?”
“Three dollars, once; three dollars twice…
Going for three..” But no-
From the room far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up all the strings,
he played a melody, pure and sweet,
As sweet as an angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said; “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
“Two thousand! And who’ll make
it three?
“Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone,” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand…
“What changed its worth?” The man replied,
“The touch of the master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and torn with sin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A mess of pottage,a glass of wine,
A game – and he travels on;
He’s going once, and going twice,
He’s going and almost gone.
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.
Myra ‘Brooks’ Welch
Sharon, thanks for sharing your pain and your faith. Sometimes we need to step back and see that our brothers and sisters have a personal life which can lay heavy on them at different times and seasons. May God give you and your family the sweetness of His presence and the assurance that He is in control of your father’s life
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Mrs. Rondeau replies: I have felt very peaceful since publishing that lovely prayer that was sent to me, and I hope it has helped others also. We all struggle with pain and challenges every day.
The ultimate reality is, as you affirm in your preface, that the Lord God is Sovereign. Because of this attribute (one of many) we can rest in Him. Throughout Scripture (the historical account of the redemptive work of God through Christ Jesus) you find “for everything there is a season” (Ecc.3).
May the peace that passes understanding be yours Sharon, during these days of endurance for loved ones suffering beyond our ability to fix it. Bless you with all the fullness of spiritual wisdom and strength in Christ.
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Mrs. Rondeau replies: Thank you, 2d. That prayer was so lovely that I had to share it.
Sharon, Thank you for this post. My prayers are with you and your family. God our father is watching over you and your dad. Sometimes things seem to be so bad that we can’t stand them and it is ok because the Lord they father is there to help us thru the bad times. May God Bless us all. Amen.
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Mrs. Rondeau replies: And I am very grateful to the reader who sent it. It seemed to say it all. Thank you for your prayers for my dad, whom I pray does not suffer further.
Thy will be done.
Amen
ELmo
Prayer is a powerful thing. My faith in God is one of the few things that kept me going during my Family’s ordeal.
May God Bless you and your Family, Sharon.
What a beautiful prayer that truly is; and one which should be in the hearts and minds of every American. What a fantastic leader for the World that America could once again become if only we all thought that way. You see the beautiful thing is that God loves us so much that he gave us free will to love Him back, if we could only wake-up to the facts of life, and better understand the mysteries of life. And let us not forget that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Also know that we will never be forced beyond that which we are able to bear (1Cor 10:13), but in the process God does see our character, truthfulness, and our faith – and so it is now in America that we must sort out our problems as a Nation, “using our God-given gifts of discernment and good judgement and honesty. The Founding Fathers certainly had it right, and God found out that he could count on them; hence the Constitution which was put together with God in mind, in the full sight of God, and “in the light of day”.
When we lose a dear family member, it is our faith that tells us that person is not dead, but rather alive and healthy, and with God, (Eccl 12:7 and 2 Cor 5:6, 7, & 8). Indeed we will miss them, but soon enough we will see them all again, and that is just the way it is. This very same knowledge is what gives good people the will to fight for that which is right and good – “to the death if necessary”, as all brave soldiers ahead of us have done. A true Patriot dies only once, but a coward, or traitor dies a 1000 deaths. God sees all. “The fear (reverence) of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).
May God help us, individually and as a nation, to get back on the correct path; in Jesus’ precious name, Amen; and may God always bless you Sharon Rondeau, for all righteous work, and heavy lifting that you are doing, each and every day.
Amen.
My prayers are with you, Sharon.
Amen! God bless and be safe!
Amen. Thank you Sharon, for posting this.