Where do we put our faith?

One of the things that God calmed my heart about while in American Samoa was the possibility of getting sick or getting some sort of infection.  The Lord protected me while on the island and brought me home before anything happened.  When I am in a situation where it is hot and I sweat a lot, I tend to get these little bumps on my skin that appear to be something like an ingrown hair.  I had a few on my arms that I was able to "pop" and they went away.  But, there were a couple that were a little more stubborn.  It started on my right elbow.  After being home a couple of days, I noticed that there was a bump and it was quite red.  It started to get quite sore and after a couple more days, it was also quite big.  There was another one developing on my right forearm as well.  I had bandaged them up with some Neosporin and hoped that they would just go away.  Well they didn't.  By Monday, they were pretty red and huge.  I was so sore that I couldn't straighten my arm out without it hurting pretty good.  After some  convincing from my wife, I know... just don't like to go to the Doctor, I went to the Doctor on Tuesday.  One look at them and she said that bumps were some sort of bacterial infection that entered into the pours of the skin and began to do its magic.  The treatment for this was to slice open a whole in the bump, squeeze out the puss, and let it drain for a couple of days.  She would then put me on a couple of antibiotics to kill the infection.  She said they have been seeing some pretty stubborn skin infections lately and didn't want to take the chance with just one antibiotic.  

So, after the cutting had been done, they bandaged me up and told me to come back in a day or two to get it drained again.  Not really looking forward to that, but I will be there bright and early in the morning to get it done.  Hopefully I was not too graphic in my explanation, but I wanted you to completely understand what was going on...... :) 

After thinking over the past week of events, especially the arm, it got me thinking.  Were do we put our faith and why?  Since my return, God has been speaking to my heart to not just go back to doing things the way I used to just for the sake of doing them.  He has really given me a motivation to search out what He wants me to do and work towards that.  You see, before the blessing of going to American Samoa, I would have been relying a whole lot more on my own understanding and comfort levels than I feel lead to now.  But, He continually showed me on the trip that He is in control and that I need to have joy no matter how things turn out.  Please understand I am not saying this to say that I have some great knowledge or that I am some sort of scholar on the subject, I am just sharing with you a testimony of what God has done in my life.  

So, here I am, looking at the storm of life in front of me and I am thinking, what am I to do next?  There is a pretty big storm out there right now and the waves are bigger than I have ever seen.  I am pretty sure that when they hit the shore the waves will create a lot of damage and dis-pare.  I am going to experience something more devastating than I have ever experienced in my life...... or am I?

I was reminded of a sermon I heard by a friend of mine Matt regarding the power of God.  Forgive me if I get the details wrong, but the message is still the same.  He stated by telling a story of a man who was a champion chess player.  The champion was at an art show one evening with some friends and happened to see a painting with the title "Check Mate".  It was a depiction of a chess game that was about to end and one player had check mate.  Something struck the chess champion odd about the painting.  He know something was wrong, but he couldn't place his finger on it right away.  After contemplating the picture, it finally came to him.  He said, "It is not check mate, the King still has one more move."  You see, this is what the Lord does for us.  When Jonah went into the belly of that large fish, we thought "Check Mate."   But no, the King still had one more move.  When Daniel went into the lions den, the people thought, "Check Mate."  But again, the King still had one more move.  When Shadrach Mishach and Abednego were sent into the blazing hot  furnace, the people also thought it was "Check Mate."  And yet again, the King still had one more move.

What this shows me is that God is bigger and greater than any storm or wave that could ever come my way.  As Jesus showed us in the book of Mark, he has the power to calm the storm and lower the waves.  He also showed us when Jonah was released from the huge fish, when Daniel was not eaten by the lion, and when Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego were not incinerated in the fire.  No matter what storm you are in, what fish has swallowed you, how big the lion is that is looking at you, or how hot the furnace is that you are in, the KING STILL HAS ONE MORE MOVE.  

Now, we don't know that move is, but what we do know is that in Romans 8:28 God's word says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  You see, God has a plan for me and you.  And no matter what we must put our faith in him in order to get through the things that life throws at us.  

Again, I am no scholar and far from perfect at applying this to my life.  But, God has encouraged me to stay faithful and trust in Him and I hope that  if you are facing some difficult times, that you can take refuge in the fact that God is in control.  Please know, that God still has one more move and that whatever that move is, God knows what is best for you.

One last thing before I go.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife to go through this thing we call life with.  Thank you God for giving me someone who I can grow with and deepen my relationship with you together.  She has supported me greatly through this trip and I know that it took a lot of faith on her part to do that.  Thank you Sara for who you are in Christ and I can't wait to see where God leads us to in this season of life and into the next.

God Bless... until next time... Billy