Because I Knew You...

As movie goers flock to see Wicked: For Good this holiday season, they will also sing along to the song, For Good, written by Stephen Schwartz.  Many will fight back tears as they remember someone who they know who has truly changed their lives.

I will unashamedly be one of them.

I will quietly sing For Good as a reminder that God does allow people in our lives to point us to Christ.  Are we thankful for them?  Do we tell them often?  Make sure you express your thankfulness for them while they still are on earth. 

In many of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, he says “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you”.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us not just focus on “things” we are thankful for but on people who God has placed in our lives to point us toward Him.  People who live out their faith before our eyes.  People who challenge us to examine our lives against the plumbline of God's word.

Every time Paul says he remembers others with thanks, he also prays for them. (Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 1:3-4, Colossians 1:3, I Thessalonians 1:2, II Timothy 2:3 and Philemon 1:4)    Take time at your Thanksgiving table to not only be thankful for someone but to lift them up before the throne in prayer.  Pray they finish well.  Pray they continue in the faith until they are rescued into His heavenly presence. 

This Thanksgiving week, I am remembering with thanksgiving a woman who was a spiritual mother to me, Esther Walker.  She has now finished the race well!  She has been rescued to her heavenly home.  Because God in His sovereignty allowed me the privilege of knowing Esther Walker, I learned three very important truths.

1.  God’s word is powerful.  When I read it, meditate on it, memorize it, and most importantly live it, His word changes me.  Esther Walker had no power to change me.   But His word literally has changed me “for good”.  Thank you Esther, for always pointing me to His word.

   
   

2. Pray God’s word.  So often I pray my hopes, dreams, and wishes for others.  Nothing wrong with that.  But why not pray in agreement with God’s will for someone.  Pray with power.  Pray God’s word.  Thank you, Esther, for teaching me to pray God’s word.

   
   

3.  Focus on the “happy moments."  Life is hard at times, especially marriage and family.   Instead of focusing on the difficult moments, point out the happy moments.  Use your resources to create memories that will last a lifetime.  Practice thanksgiving!

   
   

   During one of the most difficult seasons that John and I ever experienced in ministry, we drove to Asheville to have dinner with Ian and Esther Walker.  We needed their counsel.  One of the first things Esther said to us as we sat eating together was, “This is a happy moment!”   She wanted to turn our attention away from the difficult circumstances that we were facing and turn our hearts toward practicing thankfulness for the moment we were experiencing.   

   
   

I was blessed to have a spiritual mother in Esther Walker, someone who allowed the spirit of God to use her to point so many to Jesus.

Esther Walker, because you knew Jesus so well, I am so thankful I knew you!  

If reading this makes you long for a spiritual mother, maybe it is time for you to decide to BE a spiritual mother to someone. Ask the Lord to put someone right in front of you who needs you.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Passion Promise Ministries!