In preparation for my season with World Race America and onward, I received a word that God was going to take me peak to peak and glory to glory. I would reach a peak and God would show me His glory on this beautiful mountain top. And, when I think I’ve reached the highest peak, He was going to walk with me through the lowest valley and help me climb the highest mountain to get to an even higher peak. There He would reveal to me even deeper glory. I love this image that God gave me…you can see such beautiful views on top of mountains and it reminded me so much of where Jesus would go to be alone with God.
But to be honest, this season with World Race America has not been me dancing on top of the mountain peak with Jesus like I imagined it to be. Actually, I’ve been trudging along the valley, growing weary, and at times feeling hopeless. I’ve seen God’s goodness. I won’t deny that there have been many moments of rejoicing in the valley. But I’ve also seen so much hurt throughout America – disunity among family and churches, hatred among people, false gospels being preached and lived, people carrying anger towards God, unforgiveness that seeps into people’s heart, people dying from addictions, pride taking root within teams, arguments that never seem to subside, broken homes and fatherlessness, people denying the cross, and spiritual death and famine.
I fight each day to align my mind and my body with the Holy Spirit dwelling in my heart so that I can rejoice and remember that God is good even during all of this. I ask the Holy Spirit to give me remembrance of all the good God has done. I look through my journals to read about the miracles. I scroll through my photos to remember the joy. And I read the Word of God and trust it with all my being. I know who God is, even when the world tries to show who God is not.
This past weekend was one of those particularly hard days….trudging along the valley wondering when God will take me up the mountain for rest. I prayed until God gave me peace and then I picked up a book I was reading called “God Guides” by Mary Geegh.
I am going to share her testimony written in this book with you. When I read it I felt God was speaking into my current state of just being tired of fighting the good fight of faith especially when the world tries so hard to convince me what God is not. It reminded me of the dangers of spiritual famine and the spiritual condition that our nation is in – there is a famine where people are longing to hear a voice that’s beyond this world, the voice of Jesus. It reminded me of the word we had for World Race America 2020, “We Feed the Hungry.” A flood of memories from people feeling revived by the Holy Spirit flooded my heart.
We must always be asking the Holy Spirit to bring upon spiritual nourishment if we are to stand firm. And, it reminded me that fear of man has no place in the heart of the believer who trusts solely on the Lord. It gave me hope and led me to pick up my Bible and delight in God’s Word. I am grateful for God’s Grace, His presence, and His revelation even when I am in the valley.
I pray this testimony ministers to you also and that as you read it will remind you that God is in the midst of everything. I hope it gives you hope, like it did for me to have the strength to keep fighting even when the world would work to hold you down and shut your mouth. And I pray the side you are fighting for is the side of Godly Truth, adherence and allegiance to God and ALL that He is. Dear brother and sister, there’s work to be done…keep fighting and remember that God is…
God is..(excerpt from God Guides by Mary Geegh)
Famine stalked the land. For miles and miles the earth was parched. Trees were dry and dead. Not a blade of green could be found. Cattle and people were dying of starvation.
In the time of Amos the prophet, a great famine stalked the land. Amos told the people that the famine had started in the hearts of people and then spread to the land: the famine of hearing the words which come from the mouth of God. (Amos 8:11)
Communism was spreading in the hearts of people in our area of India. This slogan, “there is no God” was being taught.
Many countries were sending grain to India to feed the starving people. The government organized gruel centers. In our country alone, there were 75 centers, each with a thousand to fifteen hundred persons being fed in each center. The grain was cooked in large earthen pots and then distributed.
Our school was asked to be a feeding center for 1500 children to be given the food daily. All of our school staff consented to help. Each child that came was given one quart of cooked grain once a day. It took 7 hours each day to complete this feeding There were 3 government supervisors at our center assigned to see that things were done orderly and according to government regulations.
Many of these children had come into the town from their villages and were staying anywhere they could find a spot to stay.
The communists were taking advantage of the situation to drill the minds of these children each night with their doctrines. They would begin with “God is not,” and have the children repeat this, one hundred times.
I could hear the thundering chorus of these children each night responding to the leader who had gathered them together. My heart ached and longed to teach children faith in God.
So, when the children came to our school grounds in the morning, one of the teachers and I got all the children to sit in rows. Then I told them God has provided for this food. I asked them all to say after me, “God is our Father.” There was no response from the children. They had looked at the three supervisors and didn’t open their mouth. I didn’t press the matters, but we proceeded with serving the food.
This had to be a matter of God’s guidance. So all the teachers and I met early the next morning to see God’s guidance as to what to say, what to do. We had clear thoughts in everything. We were to teach the children only two words, “God is.”
We learned that the 3 supervisors were Communists, that it was they who were mobilizing and teaching the children at night, and that was why the children feared them.
It was my turn to take charge in the morning. I waited in silence with the prayer in my heart. “How do I begin, Lord?”
“Ask them who made the mountain,” I heard Him say.
There was a mountain nearby. So when the children came and we got them all to be seated on the ground in rows, I asked, “Children, who made that mountain?” They looked at me in surprise, and then they shouted, “God of course!”
“You are right,” I said, “God made that mountain. So let us say together, ‘God is’.”
The children looked at the mountain and then at the 3 supervisors and then shouted, “God is!”
The communists began to plan how they could get me out of the picture. So a committee came to see me. They said, “we feel this work is too hard for you. We think you need a vacation. You can go to the Hills for a rest. We shall look after the gruel center.”
In my heart I prayed and replied, “thank you for your consideration for me, but this is no time for anyone to take rest.”
“Be absolutely honest,” came the thought in my heart.
So I said, “one reason I must stay here is that when the children come in the morning, I must teach them, ‘God is’. At night you teach them ‘God is not’. Deep in you hearts you know that God is. This is my battle with you. Like you, I am a revolutionary; and like you, I have no fear in man. I came a long way to teach ‘faith in God’ No one can persuade me to give up the battle.”
They did not know what to say. They stayed in silence for a moment; then they arose and took their leave.
Day after day, the children faithfully said, “God is,” before they took their food. The “backbone” of the Communists’ teaching of unbelief was breaking. The faithful service of the hungry children by the Christian teachers and all the school staff was a great witness of the love of God. His Holy Spirit was working in many hearts beyond our knowing.
