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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Proverbs 30:5 (04/20/23)
Living and Active

A boy with round, gold rimmed glasses sat under a tree playing a guitar. Words of John Denver and Neil Diamond rode the waves of heat from an Iowa summer that radiated off the parking lot nearby. The year was 1975, I was 16. I was deeply confused, and my life was filled with fear. These teenagers were new to me, I had never attended a youth rally, but any way to leave the chaos of home behind brought relief. Another boy with longish, curly hair had a Bible on his lap. Between songs he read about a God so powerful that nothing could separate me from His love.

Could it be true, or were they just impossibly naive? They were friendly enough, even kind to me. But of course, they didn't know. They didn't know how my hands trembled when I opened the front door at my house, how my stomach hurt when I tried to sleep. How I could never tell anyone the power my father had over me. Could there be a God stronger than the monster who tried and usually succeeded in controlling even my thoughts?

Being here was so unusual. I was never allowed to go to anything outside of school. Church itself was only allowed when he wanted us to look like good citizens. He made it clear we could never really believe there was a God more important to us than he was. He would be furious that someone read to me about a powerful God. There were two long years before I could leave, was there any way that love from God could make it easier? If God loved me wouldn't my father find out? I had never had anything he couldn't take away. Little did I know how the verses that boy read would change my life.

The Word of Truth took root in my heart that day 48 years ago. It landed in a wounded mind, and immediately began to displace the weeds of rampant fear that grew there. As I fed the tiny living organism from verses read from a Bible hidden in my room, and opened only at night by flashlight, more Light shone deep in the wreckage of innocence and trust that was my broken heart. The living and active 'double-edged sword'* cut away bitterness and shame, as strong sprouts of hope filled my hidden thoughts. The Presence of Love changed those two bitter years into the infancy of a new Life rooted in eternal promise and shielded by ancient Words.

Today I stand before four teenagers, the lesson I prepared for Sunday school is about the armor of God. There is no package I can wrap up and hand to them, I cannot give them a lifetime of proof, the awe I feel at how God has proven His perfect Word year after year, with triumph and glory. One fills a plate with donuts, two giggle about their boyfriends, another seems to occupy an alternate universe as he doodles in the corner.

How can God touch their hearts if they are so oblivious to their need? The belt, breastplate and shield must seem like something out of Lord of the Rings instead of the only tools that can protect their future. I take a deep breath and wonder how I can penetrate their complacency. I have no gimmick planned to capture their attention.

As I open my Bible, worn and heavy with notes, underlines and bookmarks, the pages naturally fall open to Romans, and in an instant, I am taken back to 1975. No clever lesson drew my broken heart to the God who was reaching out to me. A boy sitting under a tree with a Bible and a verse. God's perfect Word that lives, not ink on a page, but proven truth that waits for the heart that will hear. My job is only to read that Word, when their hearts are open it will take root, it will shield them, protect them and give them a Life that they cannot now imagine. A Love that will never let them go.

*For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 NIV

*This is my story of the actions of God's living Word in my life.
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This article has been read 361 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Stephen Kimball
04/27/23
Truth…thanks for sharing. Well done!
Barbara Culler 
04/29/23
I loved John Denver! I'm curious how his songs tied in with talking about God. Perhaps as an attention grabber?

Great testimony.
C D Swanson 
04/30/23
Loved your entry.
Well done, well written and on topic.

Blessings~
Linda Lawrence 
05/11/23
Love this testimony! I so identify with wanting to give God's armor to those who don't yet know they will need it, but . . .
Your story encourages me to believe God will draw near, with hope and comfort, to the helpless.