“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Psalm 66:10-12
“Oh Lord,” I thought to myself as my mind drifted back to one of the most trying times of my life—a serious time of testing that had me begging the Lord to come to my rescue in a way I never had before.
Not only was I in a great season of affliction in my personal life that threatened to crush me, but I developed a case of high hamstring tendinosis that required eight weeks of rehabilitation. That meant two months of no running and, even worse, two months of not being able to run for anxiety and stress relief—something that had been my lifeline for as long as I could remember.
So many times I cried out to God for deliverance with no relief. And after the initial time of rehab was done (thankfully I did have ways to cross train), I was able to run again—only to have the high hamstring tendinosis come back again two more times in close succession.
That meant another sixteen weeks of rehabilitation in total.
As you can imagine, I was desperate to be back running again by the second and third episode, and so made many vows to the Lord saying, "God, if You will allow me to run again, I will be your vessel and will do whatever it is that You are calling me to do. I surrender any pride that I've been holding onto, and I will give You all the glory when You bring me out of this."
You can be sure it wasn't very long after being completely healed that I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me as I was enjoying an early morning run out on a back country road. "Do you remember what I revealed to you in Bible study this morning?" I felt the Spirit say. "Oh yes," I said out loud smiling, thankful for the understanding that the Spirit provided. "Share it with the world."
Upon hearing that command, I stopped in my tracks. I tried to make justifications as to why I wasn't qualified to do something like that (I stutter, which was one of my greatest rationales, but certainly not my only one), but remembered the vow that I had made to the Lord... the vow my mouth had spoken when I was in trouble.... "God, if You will allow me to run again, I will be your vessel and will do whatever it is that You are calling me to do."
"Okay Lord," I said out loud in the middle of that lonesome dirt path. "I will do it." And so, despite my apprehension, racing heart, and fear, I made a short video sharing the message from that morning and posted it to social media, hoping that video would be the end of it. But God called me to make another one, and another one and another one. Eight years later, I am still making those videos (rarely missing a day) and am determined to continue paying God the vows He is owed for the rest of my life--ever thankful for being delivered from the trial and for being made better because of the trial! Is God good or what?
As you can imagine, I was desperate to be back running again by the second and third episode, and so made many vows to the Lord saying, "God, if You will allow me to run again, I will be your vessel and will do whatever it is that You are calling me to do. I surrender any pride that I've been holding onto, and I will give You all the glory when You bring me out of this."
You can be sure it wasn't very long after being completely healed that I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me as I was enjoying an early morning run out on a back country road. "Do you remember what I revealed to you in Bible study this morning?" I felt the Spirit say. "Oh yes," I said out loud smiling, thankful for the understanding that the Spirit provided. "Share it with the world."
Upon hearing that command, I stopped in my tracks. I tried to make justifications as to why I wasn't qualified to do something like that (I stutter, which was one of my greatest rationales, but certainly not my only one), but remembered the vow that I had made to the Lord... the vow my mouth had spoken when I was in trouble.... "God, if You will allow me to run again, I will be your vessel and will do whatever it is that You are calling me to do."
"Okay Lord," I said out loud in the middle of that lonesome dirt path. "I will do it." And so, despite my apprehension, racing heart, and fear, I made a short video sharing the message from that morning and posted it to social media, hoping that video would be the end of it. But God called me to make another one, and another one and another one. Eight years later, I am still making those videos (rarely missing a day) and am determined to continue paying God the vows He is owed for the rest of my life--ever thankful for being delivered from the trial and for being made better because of the trial! Is God good or what?
"When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—Better not to vow than to vow and not pay." Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
So, if you have an unfulfilled vow to the Lord, something that your lips uttered and promised Him while you were in trouble, make today the day that you “pay what you have vowed” my friend. After all, if God was faithful to bring you "through fire and through water" as He did for me, you can trust Him to call you to do something that will bless others and bring Him glory.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the times of testing and affliction that You bring upon Your children. Lord, help us to understand that these times are part of the refining process of stripping us of our waywardness and pride that we might be all that You created us to be. Help us to take our vows seriously God knowing that You are honored in obedience, and to fulfill them no matter the cost. It's in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment