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As Long as It Takes
January 24, 2011 - Comments (62)I received an email this week from a girl who is concerned about her mom. Her mom recently had surgery on her throat (similar surgery to the one I had.) She loves to sing in her church, but her voice feels weak, and she has been unable to fully recover yet from this surgery. The girl told me that her daughter had discovered my documentary, “Nothing to Say,” that chronicled my journey through a season of silence due to throat surgery, just days before her own and it has encouraged her to know that someone else out there who sings has gone through the same thing. Yet, now she is still discouraged as the recovery process seems endless.
As I was writing a note of encouragement to this woman, I thought this would make a worthy blog as well, because this email I received was more than an email. It was continuing proof that God uses our trials. My surgery was over three years ago, and yet God is at work, directing someone who is facing a similar set of circumstances to my story and that film so they can find encouragement. I think back to how much that trial of losing my voice and having to rebuild from the ground up. I think about the weeks of silence, and the months of uncertainty about my future in music. I think about the peace that flooded me during those most frustrated moments holding a dry erase board, unable to speak. And now, I think about this email I received, and I am reminded that when we face trials, there is a reason why the Bible says we should consider it “all joy.” We may not see it all in the moment, in fact we probably won’t. But God is at work, and will continue to be. He is at work in our lives, and in the lives of others through the trials we face. And our trials will persist as long as it takes to complete God’s work in our lives, so that our lives will show his glory in due time.
Have you seen an example of God at work through a trial you’ve faced? Have you been able to be an encouragement to someone because you were able to relate to another’s trial? If so, post a comment. -mw“Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds.” James 1:2
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matthew
62 comments
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- @CabinMouse oh yeah, we'll if ur lurking, what did I have for lunch?
- @mandisaofficial The Price Is Right
- Excited to worship @peopleschurch !!RT @rickwhite: @matthew_west ok, bring that energy with you to TPC on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
- I know! May as well be Pig Latin... ight-ray?! RT @zacharyngarza: @matthew_west Nashville numbering?! That stuff confuses me. Lol.
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Mon 24/1/11, 7:29 pm
I don’t know if I have been an encouragement to anyone, but I know that you have been an encouragement to me. Meeting you at Lifeway in October and seeing you in concert was an encourgement. It was a great thing to meet you and see you in concert. It made me a huge fan of yours. Your music has been a constant encouragment to me through various trials I find. I thank God everyday that He didn’t take away your voice. Your voice is powerful and He has given you this amazing talent. Rememebr that you are the best. No one is as good as Matthew West. No other performer can perfrom like you can, or sing the way that you can. Or write blogs like you can. Your lyrics are incredible. In all four records. Keep up the good work.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:31 pm
Been thinking along these same lines. John 13: 7: “You don’t understand what I am doing now but it will be clear enough to you later.”
Mon 24/1/11, 7:38 pm
I pray that God keeps helping her.And i am so thankful that your voice is so beautiful.I feel so LOVED when I listen to your songs,They just open my heart up to GOD and all the blessings he has blessed me with,I cant sing,But when you sing I sing with you.You have helped me through alot.I hear your music on K-LOVE,GOD BLESS THE LADY THAT SHE WILL SOON SING AND PRAISE GOD,GOD BE WITH YOU BOTH.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:38 pm
I have one of those stories, I was complaining to one of my best friends about how my dad when he is angry will yell at me for no reason. How it frustrates me that he doesn’t listen. Like he doesn’t care at all what I say. About 2 days later she called my crying. Saying she hated her mom because she never would listen. I tried to comfort her but I had no clue what to say. That night she said she was reading over the text messages we had had over the course of those days. My situation with my dad gave her the courage to try again with her mom. Even though my story is way less moving compared to yours. I feel like God was using me in a way to help my friends when I didn’t even know!
Mon 24/1/11, 7:39 pm
How inspiring! Your latest album inspires me every day. Some dyadic I weep for what the words mean to me. It’s amazing how many lives you touch.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:40 pm
I really loved this. It is so true. Everything we go through has a purpose and a reason. God has a reason for everything that occurs in our lives, and like you said, at the moment we are going through that trial, it might not seem like something we should be joyful about. But it is later on when we have passed through the trial that we are able to minister and be an encouragement to someone.
I went through a sexual assult oh probably 15 years ago. And I am way over it now, but my younger sister went through something similar a few months back, and it was cool to be able to tell her how I got through it and just encourage her.
God works in mysterious, wonderful and marvelous ways, and if we all just understood that everything we are going through is for a reason and that God would not allow us to go through something if he knew we couldn’t handle it, it might make it easier and more understandable while we struggle through our trials.
So keep your smiles on your faces, your chins up and and your arms outstretched upwards fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and let God work in and through you as you struggle through the trials of life. God has not abandoned you – infact he is closer then ever before. So embrace Him and let him do wonderful things to further His kingdom.
Blessings to all – and thanks for posting this Matthew.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:41 pm
I actually came to a realization just yesterday about a situation that my family has been going through and how it has allowed us to relate and help others going through the same thing. It all starts in August of 2009. My daughter who is a full-time college student came home and announced that she had had a baby. She had hid the entire pregnancy with plans to give the baby up for adoption. However, she could not face the idea of not having her daughter with her. So my husband and I agreed to take the baby and raise it while our daughter was going to school. What amazing joy it is to have a baby in the house again. We loved every minute of it. We were exhausted. But it all came crashing in when this beautiful little girl died of SIDS at almost 8 months of age. We were all devastated. This happened in April. The Monday after Thanksgiving we found out that a family that we knew lost their 8 week old baby also to SIDS. This young lady had been my kids private strings teacher and her parents and my in-laws knew each other. I changed my schedule so that I could attend this little one’s visitation. My daughter and her old teacher and been able to connect on a different level and we hope that we are helping them. We have also discovered that the baby that is buried next to our beloved granddaughter is the granddaughter of friends of ours. (it is a small world) It has brought us all some peace to know that we are there to help each other. Has this journey been easy. NO! but I’m still doing the best I can with support from wonderful friends that God has given me. On a side note, my 23 year old niece died from leukemia and your video “One Last Christmas” really touched me. Thank you for putting together such a difficult song. I don’t know how you sang it.
God Bless
Mon 24/1/11, 7:44 pm
I am going thru a divorce due to an abusive marriage . People have commented on how I am handling it and how I can still laugh and smile, I can only praise God for that laugh and that smile and I have also been told that I am a much better person now then before all this happened. God used this trial I believe to mold me into who He wanted me to be and I am so thankful to Him for that!
Mon 24/1/11, 7:47 pm
I thank the Lord that your ability to sing is still present. Your Voice is so powerful. you came to my school in Nc 5-6 years ago and really challenged me to be real with myself and others. God certainly was not and is not done with you. If you can reach out to a teenager who at the age of 17 has already lost a cousin from suicide, a classmate from cancer and 2 classmates just last year in a car accident, then the Lord is certainly workbg through you. Your lyrics and messages are what has gotten me through the past 7 years of my life. God does allow things to happen but He is always faithful. Thank you for being obedient to His calling and allowing Him to work through you.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:49 pm
Just over 18 months ago I got notice, as I was heading to SonShine Music Festival ’09 (where I met you), that I would be laid-off 2 months later. I kept my focus by listening to Jeremy Camp’s Walk By Faith for hours on end the first 36 hours after that notice. It reminded my that God was in control and would provide. I survived the lay-off, started Grad School, and am surviving on unemployment while I look for a job doing ministry and finish my Master’s degree in 3 months. As I look back I see God’s hand in all of this. He has always provided. And as I finish typing this, that song God used to keep me focused 18 months ago is playing on the radio. God works in wonderful ways.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:50 pm
I loved this post!! Thanks so much for sharing! I was able to encourage a friend who lost a loved one because I have lost a loved one. I am sure that we can al say we can do this but I wasn’t until I started thinking about this that I thought of something else. I have a disability so I am to encourage and walk along side those who are having issues because of their disability because I have probably been where they are. So it’s encouraging to know that I am not the only one that gets made fun of because of because we are different. Thanks for your music!!
Mon 24/1/11, 7:52 pm
Without going into detail, God helped me survive a childhood of abuse and He helped me forgive my father. While God did not remove me from the situation, He taught me so many truths that I may have never learned otherwise. I am grateful for His love, healing, and His lessons of forgiveness. He taught me (and continues teaching me) about unconditional love.
Over the years, I have encountered people who have suffered through abuse or were not nurtured or lacked encouragement and affirmation from their parents during their childhood. I have been able to share God’s faithfulness and steadfastness and I have also been able to share the importance of forgiveness and showing unconditional love.
God is so good and faithful! All praise, honor and glory go to Him.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Mon 24/1/11, 7:52 pm
I can completely relate. I had a brain aneurysm when I was fourteen. I wound up in a coma and I should have died many times in the month following, but God kept me from death. When school started up I wasn’t allowed to play sports (I lived for playing sports). That made me miserable for a time. I also wasn’t treated the same by my friends. As the year progressed I realized that I had made true friends through church and I came to appreciate art. I also saw my dad come to Christ because of all he witnessed during my hospitalization. Now I look back nine years ago and see that it completely changed who I was, how I thought, and how my family views life. God transformed my family and I through something that was very very difficult for my family to go through.
Mon 24/1/11, 7:56 pm
I first started journaling due to trials over 30 years ago when my daddy committed suicide. There is no doubt those pages document God’s faithfulness to me during those most difficult days, weeks, and months. It took 10 years to get total release from that very deep hurt. Over ten years ago I received the diagnosis of breast cancer. Then the days, weeks, and months after my son had a terrible motorcycle accident and was in the hospital for 28 days nine years ago. There wasn’t only physical healing but also mental and emotional healing that had to take place for my son. Since 2004 I’ve had nine diagnoses/surgeries of oral and/or head cancer. In 2007 God prompted me to start a blog to document His faithfulness. I don’t know how many people it might encourage, but I know it continues to “re”encourage me when I read back over the posts. And today I await with my 36 year old daughter the results of a breast biopsy she had 5 days ago. God’s message to me all day today: You are my God. You are my unshakeable peace. My hiding place. My safe refuge. I will exalt You. Bring Yourself glory.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:02 pm
I find myself in a situation that a lot of people are in right now, suddenly unemployed. In December of 2009 just a week before Christmas I was dismissed from my job. I got a call from my boss the day before to cancel all my appointments and meet her, it didn’t take much for me to figure out what was happening. Just 2 weeks before I had moved out of my home and was renting a bedroom from a friend, planning to purchase something smaller than the home I had sold. I know God was at work…I had sold my home (in a very bad economy) without even listing it. In conversations with the couple that bought it we realized that we went to the same church. A mutual friend had told them that I was considering selling. I have no doubt that God knew what was coming and was taking care of me, preparing me. I have not had any luck finding a job, so I decided to go back to school full time (with assistance from the state). I’m 54 years old and sometimes I think “I’m too old for this.” But I know that God is in control and He has bigger plans for me, plans that I do not know, but He certainly does. He has taken care of me; yesterday, today and I know he will tomorrow. I have shared with other people in similar situations, unemployed, not knowing what the future holds. I always tell them….God has a plan, we may not understand it, but we have to trust Him.
I was blessed to see you this past fall at FishFest in Vancouver, Wa., even got to meet you! Would love to see you again in February, but I have to watch my budget! Have a wonderful time sharing your testimony in Portland, we in the Pacific NW appreciate you.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Mon 24/1/11, 8:04 pm
Awesome post, and how timely. Just last night we sat with some dear friends from our church over dinner, crying together with them as they shared the recent diagnosis they’d gotten for their 4 year old who was born with special needs. Almost 5 years to the DAY, my husband and I sat holding each other, crying after having just returned from an exhausting day at Children’s Hospital seeing numerous specialists who all confirmed that our daughter did indeed have a slew of special needs that they formally diagnosed. At the time, I wanted to crawl into a hole and just cry…and cry…and cry. I’d always been a fairly confident person and I’d seen God do incredible things throughout my life, but I just felt so discouraged and alone. After going through our initial “grief” process after receiving these diagnoses, we pushed on. The past 5 years have been a challenge, but God has done SO many amazing things for our family and He’s used our daughter to touch the lives of almost every person she’s come in contact with. And now, here we are, 5 years later able to use our tough times to help another family get through similar circumstances. Last night as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but praise my Maker for blessing me with this opportunity to share our experiences with this family who is hurting. I marvel that this was His plan from the start – that our difficult times were preparing us to be able to reach out to others and to encourage them. God is SO good! Thank you again for this post – it was wonderful to be able to share something so fresh on my heart with someone else who “gets it”. Love your music – God bless!
Mon 24/1/11, 8:07 pm
I thank God every day and every morning that he did save your voice Matthew West. Every morning I get in my car and pop in your cd and you (and GOD) keep me going another day when somedays Im not sure I can. My husband and I traveled to Louisville, KY to see you from Nashville one weekend and it was the best weekend of my life. I walked in the doors of the church and there you where, then your little girl LuLu gave me a Christmas box that night and it was precious. That whole night was the STORY OF MY LIFE!!!!!! I pray that I get to have that experience again and if I have to travel to do it I will. God is definitely working in you and through you. Keep up the good work.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:13 pm
Matthew,
I met you @ Dax’s benefit concert in Washington, IL. We drove 4 hrs to be there to be blessed by you & your music. What you didn’t know when you met My wife & I & our 4 daughters is this. My wife & I have been blessed with 4 beautiful daughters. My 12 yr old was given to my wife & I by God after we had been married for 4 yrs. 3 yrs later I was made aware of an older daughter I had through a relationship that I had when I was 20 yrs old. We let God lead us on in pursueing this relationship. God gave us monetary funds we thought wasn’t possible , but God gave us funds when we needed them & took them away when we needed to back off. 1 month after the healing began in the relationship with my daughter, my wife became pregnant with our next child. She has been a blessing to us & she resembles my oldest daughter which made a connection with my oldest daugher in the beginning our of relationship. My wife & I had not used birth control for 10 yrs before becoming pregnant. Doctors had told us that nothing was wrong but we could not become pregnant. God sent my 3rd at just the right time to help heal our family when we needed it. God has been there for our family. God gave us our final blessing less than 10 months after our 3rd daughter with daughter #4!!! I feel God has used my life to encourage others. I have been able to encourage a member of our church who had a daugher through infidelity. I have also tried to encourage a friend of ours who gave her daugher up for adoption 19 yrs ago & is now trying to heal her relationship with her daugher. I think God gives us trials to see more clearly the awesome power of God through those trials & help others see that power during those trials.
I can also say that God has prepared us for such I time as this. I think God gives us people around us to understand the trial & encourage us through that trial. While I was trying to deal with my failure to be there for my older daughter, I was driving down a road near our home. I drove past a roofer friend of mine 3 times in one day, and each time I drove past him the holy spirit kept telling me to go open up to this friend about this trial I was going through. Finally, the 3rd time & stopped, got out of my truck & climbed up the scaffolding. I got on the roof & my friend looks & me without me saying a word he says Dan I have this problem & don’t know what to do. I have a son who I haven’t been involved in his life since he was born & I don’t know what to do?? I will never forget that moment in my life. God has been Good!!!
Mon 24/1/11, 8:21 pm
Thanks for sharing..I love following your blog. I hadn’t thought about it till you asked, but I have gotten to talk with a few women who are/were struggling with infertility. My husband and I struggled with it for quite a few years and after surgeries and lots of Dr interventions we prayed hard and decided we would try InVitro as a last resort of having our own baby. On our 2nd try we got pregnant with our 7 year old daughter, Annika. We finally had the family we had dreamed of. Eighteen months later we were debating whether to try IVF again and trying to figure out how we would pay for it all over again. We were still in the process of praying about what to do and I found out I was already pregnant without any help!!! Talk about a miracle from the Lord. I was given a one in a million chance to get pregnant on my own so my Doctors were quite surprised that it had happened. Guess the decision wasn’t ours to make after all. My 2nd daughter Evelyn is now 5 years old. Now our family was complete, or at least we thought it was. When my now 5 year old was 20 months old I found out I was again pregnant. We again were all completely shocked. We now have a beautiful 2 1/2 year old son, Drew!! Our family is finally complete!! God is Good all the time, even through our struggles!!! All that being said, I love getting to talk with women going through infertility and telling them that it truely all is in God’s timing. It may not happen for them like it did for us and there are options out there, but never give up on your dream of a family. I did not and now have three beautiful childrens all made in God’s image!!! I can’t wait till they are old enough to be able to share each of their stories with them.
Thanks for all the songs you have written. They are all beautiful and my girls love to sing them too. I have sang “You are Everything” at church as a special and my husband played acoustic for me!! Keep up the awesome work you do.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:26 pm
As a youth pastor I hope I have been able to encourage many of the young people I have worked with. I know they have been an inspiration to me, and I believe I have learned as much from them as they have from me. I really enjoy the songs from your newest CD and hope to be able to buy it soon.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:26 pm
Hi Matthew. Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve been clinging to James 1:2-3 for the past 7 months. There are several scriptures that have brought me peace through this time of trial in my life. My trials are more emotional then surgical or life threatening, but this is by far the hardest time in my life. I’ve drawn closer to Jesus through this time and realized that my faith before this was weak and shallow. I had built my faith on sand and when it all came down, I found the foundation of Jesus. Unfortunately, my husband (now ex) only found more sand and continues to sink. There’s nothing more I can say or do but pray. My encouragement to him only falls on deaf ears. It saddens me to no end that he’s fallen so far and refuses to look up. I just don’t know what to do for him anymore.
Through this trial, I’ve had the opportunity to minister to several friends who have confided in me of their own troubles they’re having in their marriages. I encourage them to seek counseling, to pray and to never give up. I’m currently praying through a decision I think God has called me to and am unsure where it will lead. But I know God is leading the way!
God Bless You.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:28 pm
Hey Matthew,
I totally get what you are saying. I have been through quite a few trials are pertaining to the same thing…depression! It has been very enduring, trialling, humiliating, and very hard to bare at times. For, when it usually happens it lasts around a year, and each time it has happened it has gotten more so enduring…not to mention that a trigger in this flesh can cause the enemy to attack me like no other. But, even though that these trials have taken me to dark places that I would have never imagined myself in, or wished for myself, doing what I do not want to do (as Paul explains his Thorn in the Flesh) I would not exchange them for anything. They have taught me so much, and during them I was shown that even at my weakest God can use me. Not to say that I always handled things in the best way, but I believe that even the ways I acted was God’s Grace outpouring on other people, to say Christians suffer too! I was in a mental hospital 3 different times, and it wasn’t until the third time that the healing actually started to happen. I am so grateful for these trials. It has allowed me to have sympathy and empathy for people who deal with this kind of thing, as well as give me a passion for what I believe God wants me to do. He has led me to a Christian College in Georgia that has a fabulous Counseling program and He has been healing and refining me even more. I hope to help both Christians and nonbelievers to deal with this, and encourage them from understanding and experience:) I will most likely go through many more trials, but whether good or bad circumstances…they are ALL blessings. Trials are hard, but they definitely change our character for the better…if we surrender everything and allow God to take complete control of everything:)
Mon 24/1/11, 8:33 pm
In May of 2010 my wife of 28 yrs asked for a separation, in June she wanted to divorce. Early Sept I left my home of 20 yrs for an apartment and by the end of Sept I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I had been treated and cured of Hodgkins in 1976. Was hospitalized 30 days in three hospitalizations, on a ventilator, given my first chemo treatment while unconscious to save my life and the dog I had was given to another for care, permanently. Have been cared for by friends, some of which have traveled from Europe to be my caregivers, and my children after I was released from the hospital. While out on disability, the company I worked for was purchased by another and don’t know ultimately if I will have employment when I am well. This has been a time of great trial in my life. And I have seen God’s hand in so many, many ways. While I am heartbroken at my wife’s indifference to my struggles and pain, I have had extraordinarily blessed and loved by so many friends, friends from the Netherlands who were given the funds to travel here to care for me by members of their church congregation! God’s hand there… I was unable to even get into bed on my own at the time and was blessed by their presence immensely. And Friends from the internet whom have become more than family to me. I had refused to be ventilated but I heard the Lord’s voice ask me, “Will you trust Me?” as I was praying. A medical student spent a night outside my room to make sure I was healthy enough to be intubated the next day. Drs told me that I could be ventilated for as long as 5 weeks but God allowed release from the machine on the sixth day! A church family I had said goodbye to only months before have rallied around me providing prayers, comfort, visitors and care. It was questionable that I was going to be able to endure the chemo treatments however I am on the 5th round and improving in overall health. All these events I’ve shared on my Facebook page; even posting some longer notes. I’ve had many tell me how much my sharing and faith has inspired them. While I have no idea of what the future holds, I DO know who holds my future! And no, I was not joyful over these many events in rapid sequence, I am joyful that the Lord has taught me valuable lessons and has walked with me through these valleys. Painful lessons but lessons I needed to learn and experience to know Him more intimately.
I pray that this daughter and her mom will not look at circumstances, however difficult and painful but remember and hold on to the promise of our God when He said He would never leave nor forsake us.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:37 pm
Matthew West,
Is there anywhere I or others could email you to share those sorts of things with you?
God bless!!
Mon 24/1/11, 8:41 pm
A friend of mine who’s child was born with Apert Syndrome posted this as her status message the other day and her words spoke to my heart:
“Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts. Your testimony could be someone else’s deliverance.”
Mon 24/1/11, 8:42 pm
We were unable to have children, but because of that experience, we were able to adopt two wonderful daughters. God has blessed us more than we could have imagined, but it took going through a very hard thing to get there! And now we’re able to share our experiences with others who are interested in adoption as a result.
Our almost 3 year old, adopted from China, btw, is really attached to your song “One Less”. She wants to hear it over and over again. You should hear her sing “One less, one less, one less boken hawt tonight…”. Then my husband will sing “One more, one more” and they fight over the correct song lyrics!
Mon 24/1/11, 8:43 pm
Matthew, thank you for your songs and your heart for God. I am currently going thru a trial that I wish would finally end. Back in the early 90′s I gave my heart back to the Lord but have always been with Him, just didn’t give my LIFE to Him. So when I did, shortly after that I realized I had a heart for missions. This idea/feeling became strong after I got married but when I got married this was not on the forefront of my mind. I wish it was but it sadly it wasn’t. I dated my hubby for 4 yrs before we married in 1996. I know the Lord wanted us to marry – that is not a question. I had my first child in 1999 and as my family grew, so did my heart for God and being a missionary. (I believe I always had this heart as I tried hard to convince my mom to let me go and be an exchange student at least for a summer in France during high school and after high school thought strongly about being an Ambassador or work internationally). Anyways, In 2005 I convinced hubby to go with me to Honduras on a church Missions trip. We went together in May 2006. In Aug 2006 we took our kids to South Africa on a vacation – along side a missions trip and stayed with Missionary friends our family has. My husband realized at that time he has NO desire for missions. I was heartbroken and have struggled with this. God still has a plan I know. In 2002 the Lord laid it on my heart to be a nurse. There is a huge testimony about this that I would post if someone wants to hear – but God got me thru that and has used that in every aspect. My nursing abilities are how I glorify God. I want so much to use this for overseas missions but I really want to just be right where God wants me. I’ve been able to do disaster relief with it, been to Honduras and SA as a nurse and then last year I went to Haiti. I also trained with our governments Medical Reserve Corp for disaster relief. This has been great but I want MORE. I work in a hospital currently on a Adult Mental Health Unit. This is where I meet many homeless, depressed people. My supervisor is fine but God has always been my boss – no matter what department I work for (and I have worked almost all units in a hospital, except for ICU). I can identify with your song that says “…and I looked her in the eye….” . I have done this. I want so bad for my heart to be the same as the Lords for these people but I struggle. My struggle is to be content with were God has me. I want to do more. I want to open and run a successful homeless rehabilitation center, or a center for developmentally disabled people, or people who just need help – to be the kind of person you sang about. It hasn’t been God’s timing. I see myself in another 20 years heading off overseas do what I want to do. My struggle is just that – doing what I want to – I am fearful that it is of me and not Him. I just want to be used however He wants to. And the closer I try to get to Him the worse my marriage seems to be. God is good and is working us thru this too. We are just messed up spiritually I think.
I know I have been used for the Lord but I don’t think I can say anyone has grown spiritually because I was faithful to what God has done thru me. I don’t think I have that gift. My gift is to serve. I try serving every day with a heart of God’s. I just don’t think anyone will ever come back to me and tell me “that because you listened to me that day, or because you relieved my pain that day, or because you gave me that medicine….I am closer to God. I hope all I do is not in vein.
Thank you for your ministry and your heart. It blesses me in all that I do.
Mon 24/1/11, 8:44 pm
How true this is. On Christmas day 07 my husband had a seizure which led to the diagnosis of the worst Brain Tumour Cancer and was given 6-12 months to live. We had a 4 and 6 year old, and many family and friends (& their friends) who prayed and prayed. He did Chemo and Radium and is still well today – infact we made it to the MWS cruise last year, and my daughter’s highlight was speaking to you in the lift! She plays ‘Survivor’ over and over – it’s almost like her therapy. THANK YOU! Now people can see God’s healing through my husband, modern day miracles. Thank you God!
Mon 24/1/11, 9:01 pm
I have loved listening to you since I first heard you. I still love listening to you! You are an amazing talent vocally & lyrically. Just yesterday I was able to minister to someone who is going through a lot of the same things I’ve been through myself. It felt so good to be able to help someone even though when I was going through it I prayed continuously for it to be over. The things I suffered have only made me stronger & more dependent on God. It has brought me so much closer to him. I look to him for everything! He never fails or disappoints me. God has completely turned my life around in the past year. Now I crave God like an addict craves his/her drug of choice. God is constantly doing a new thing. This woman will be in my prayers tonight Matthew & so will you. God bless & keep you!
Mon 24/1/11, 9:15 pm
God has blessed me to be able to see how my trials have helped others time and again. I have so many examples it is hard to choose only one. I grew up poor with a sick mother, and I was able to help save a friend’s life and later her sanity because I knew what to do. Anyone else may have ignored the warning signs of her own illness. I have a blind husband, who has overcome great obstacles with my help, and I have been able to help others transition into a new season because of my history with him. I taught for a few years and was able to help students who were experiencing the same type things I did at there age. I feel blessed to know that I have helped so many because of the trials in my own life. Looking back they did not last long, but were hard to get through at the time. I am a better person for all my trials and I am grateful to have had them. Thank you for all you have done to encourage me today.
Mon 24/1/11, 9:50 pm
I like your comment, Matthew, that the Lord will continue a trial as long as it takes. I have been going through an ongoing trial for many years now, with many facets of dark and light. One point when I thought things could get no darker, I plopped into a lawn chair in the garage (summer time.) God had allowed things to get so dark I thought I was going to lose my mind. I said to God very pointedly, “I quit. I can’t take another day of this. You can throw me in hell, You can do what ever you want, but I will not go any further with this.” And I meant it.
It is so God to know exactly what we need when we need it. In His most gentle way with me He said, “Hil, it isn’t Me you don’t want. It’s the difficulty. Please stick it out with Me.” And the Holy Spirit encouraged me to go on like only the Holy Spirit can do. He could have given me what-for, but He knew exactly what to say and how to say it.
I’m still here. Still walking with my Daddy in Glory.
See you in Littleton, Matthew. Looking forward to some great worship together.
Mon 24/1/11, 9:50 pm
I went through a divorce and got diagnosed with a chronic health condition all at the same time. I had lost my health, my marriage, and partial custody of my kids for a year. The judge decided to do shared custody. I had lost most of my friends due to some of my ex husband’s behavior. This all happened with my family two states away. God has put people in my life that are going through this. I have been able pray for them and listen to their story. I’m hoping to do more for other people. During this time, God has provided for my every need. Praise God!
Mon 24/1/11, 9:52 pm
I can relate in a lot of ways. I and my fiance adopted several children come last august. However the last two of the children were twins conceived through rape. I went through it myself but did not have a full term pregnancy. I was able to help the mother understand that it was not her fault that it happened to her. I helped people who lost loved ones deal with their grief all because I went through it. I had a lot of things I went through that I was able to help them go through since I went through it.
Mon 24/1/11, 9:54 pm
This has really been on my heart lately too….thank you for sharing. What an encouragement to read how God is working in the lives of others!!
“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.” Romans 8:28
My little brother has OCD….for several years of my/his childhood it pretty much ruled our lives. It was awful seeing the sadness in his eyes. I think I was just as traumatized when they admitted him to inpatient care in the psychiatric ward as if it were me being admitted. I used to wonder why him? Why me? Why our family? It was tough on everyone….I didn’t get very much attention because my parents had to focus on him and his needs. I was really okay with that, but did get lonely. I reached out to the wrong people and in the wrong way and ended up pregnant. My son was born when I was 15 years old. So many people told me to end the pregnancy. I didn’t know God at that time (had never really been taught) but I knew that abortion was not an option. I loved that little person growing inside me from the very second I found out about him! (He is now almost 15!!) Having him unmarried and at 15 was definitely not what the Lord would have had me to do….but He used my choices and our very hard situation for good! Because of what I had gone through, I was receptive when my friend (6 years later) invited me to church. I didn’t think I was good enough…didn’t think God wanted me there….but I KNEW I needed Him. At that time, I had nothing else. That friend is now my amazing husband of 7 years!! We are raising our boys (14 and 6) to love JESUS. To be captivated by Him and to turn to Him for everything.
And the final piece….I recently felt called to start a Disability Ministry at my church. Two friends and I who have absolutely no experience in starting/leading a ministry like this…but God has been so faithful!! I never would have pictured this for my life (speaking in front of HUNDREDS of people at each of our 3 services…scariest thing I’ve ever done!) but I know that God prepared my heart for these families by giving my brother to us. Disability and all…
He, by the way, is now a first year Med-student at one of the leading medical schools on the west coast. Proud sister here!
Anyways….thank you for the opportunity to share. I’m sorry to go on…and on…and on
Mon 24/1/11, 10:06 pm
I’m a pretty average girl, but I actually have had a similar experience (but a bit less on the…”awe” scale? How awesome it is, how big it is importance-wise, something like that). I went through a move when I was in third grade that was a big turn-around point in my life. I lost all my friends and I was farther away from my grandparents after the move. I gained new friends, lost them again, and I ‘acted out,’ as the counselor always said, to get some kind of attention. I knew what it was like to be alone. Now, whenever there is somebody that seems to be alone or in need of a friend, something pushes me to help them and be their friend. Just recently, I befriended a new boy who is blind (although he has a little sight in one eye) that everybody makes fun of and disses. Now, there is some reasoning behind their meanness, as he started it, but I know what he’s doing. I’ve been there, done that, and I know how to get out of it. He recently told me that he’s the only person he knows now at this school that he can trust. I nearly cried when he told me that. My story isn’t anything special as many things I’ve read about (or heard of in your songs, Matthew), but it is special to me because nobody has ever said something like that to me before. Also, kinda funny thing, the kid’s name is Matthew too. Matthew is a very important name to me, since I know a lot of people (and a gospel) named that.
Mon 24/1/11, 10:12 pm
Matthew,
I suffer from debilitating back pain and had back surgery/spinal fusion 3 years ago this month. I was suppose to make a full recovery and did not as I am back to square one. Jesus saved us a little less than a year ago and it was then that I met a courageous mother of 5 who also suffers from debilitating back pain (funny thing we are both Melissa’s) and what a blessing she was to me. She made me realize if I stayed in those pity party days I wasn’t that was not glorifying to God. I use to dread the day and the pain I knew awaited me, then Christ came and now I can face the day because as your song says, “I don’t have to be strong enough.” Its funny because I can enjoy life, smile, just be joyful and people say wow your back must not be hurting anymore. Even my husband who use to walk on eggshells because I was so frustrated and angry of the pain I was still in said he can see the changes the Lord has made in me (that means alot). I smile and say no the pain is still there but Christ has made all the difference. I still pray for the day I wake up with no pain. You see I am a 36 year old wife and mommy to two awesome kids Janell 6 and Josh 4 and all of them (Andrew my husband included) need me and I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. It wasn’t always like that for me. So much has changed in our lives and I give all the praise and glory to God almighty without Him I would be in a dark place.
Thank you Matthew! We look forward to seeing you again in March when you are back in Reno…Woohoo! Our daughter Janell will be with us and hopefully the youth group from our church.
Melissa Keane
Mon 24/1/11, 10:26 pm
My Mom died when I was 7 years old. She wasn’t sick, we had no warning. She was fine one morning, got in a car accident and was gone by early afternoon. I didn’t really understand it, but I knew my Mom was in Heaven and I wouldn’t see her again until I went to Heaven too. Shortly after that, my uncle began abusing me. I went through many stages of grief, anger, and depression over the years. It wasn’t just one level of healing, it constantly changed as I grew up. When it was the 20th anniversary of my Mom’s death, I hit rock bottom with my grief. After that, God healed my heart so I can love my Mom, think about her, remember her, but not be overcome by pain and grief. It took a little bit longer to heal from the abuse, but He healed me from that as well. When I was in my late 20′s I met my husband to be. His first wife passed away from cancer, she was 35, the same age my Mom was when she died. She had a 12 year old daughter, my heart broke for her. I didn’t want her to go through the emptiness and longing for her Mother that I did. God used me to reach out to her, and fill a void that I understood only too well. I was able to understand and love her in a way I never could have if I didn’t go through it myself. Because of the abuse, I was also able to teach her things to help protect herself, things I never would have known if I didn’t learn the hard way. I’m not happy that I had to go through these things, but I am happy that God can use me to help and reach out to others. Now my husband and I have 3 more children, and I will do my very best to teach them too. I will always be aware of just how special a Mother’s embrace is. That is a gift I’ve missed so very much with my Mom gone, but I cherish so very much with my children! :0)
Mon 24/1/11, 10:33 pm
The whole year of 2010…BUT – GOD is always faithful. I knew months ago HE wanted me to write this poem but had to wait on HIS words and HIS purpose. I knew from the beginning it wasn’t going to be a personal one between God and I (my journaling) but to be shared…which made it even more difficult to write…How much personal honesty do I write? What if I put this situation in so it could reach more people? The answer was to write me life and the “sweet” revelation GOD gave me that helped so very much. Glory to God, especialy in this…
~ How Sweet It Is ~
Oh how I long to utter these words true from my heart; “How sweet it is.” When the trials come and blow you around like wheat to be chaffed, that’s when you’re tested to see if you truly are HIS. It may seem a simple phrase to let escape from your mouth; I would agree if that’s all you wish and desire.It’s when you are walking in the Valley of death and all you can feel is an all consuming fire.
The year started out with my marriage in trouble and pain beyond either of our abilities to mend.I believe God heard our cries for help, but before the answer could sink in; our carnival ride would soon begin…To awaken in the middle of the night by an unexpected phone call with nothing but bad news to bear. “He’s been shot… he didn’t make it….he’s dead…”A moment of silence while It sinks in, then uncontrollable sobs pour forth with the pain I now wear. My first thoughts are,”My husband is not even home, he’s away at the academy. God how do I even begin to tell him his brother is dead?” “God I want to be with my husband…. Why his brother, he has a little girl? God, are you listening? Did you hear what I said?” Though I cannot see any light in this dark night that came to pass with its agony and hell. Lord, to speak the truth would be to admit, in this moment my faith did waiver and my trust in YOU fell. The only light in this darkness is to feel the arms of my Abba and with it a comfort only HE can give. To this kind of peace, to this kind of love, with all my heart I can truly say, “How sweet it is.”
Only a short time later, my husband’s aunt is living her last few days in the hospital dying of her secret cancer. Now his grandma has to bury another loved one she never wanted to outlive, and is seeking an answer. Honestly, so was I Lord. First the grandson and now her daughter…the pain she must be feeling. My prayer was, “God please, work a miracle. I know You can if You so choose. Please Great Physician, work a healing.” One thing is absolute; God will always answer you, even if the answer is not the one you want HIM to give. Though I may not understand all Your ways LORD, I am thankful that You are faithful to always answer and to this I can say, “How sweet it is.”
Before enough time had passed to adjust to this tragedy, another one, of similar sort, arises. I put on a brave face but to tell you the truth, on the inside I’m shouting, “Lord hear me please, no more surprises!” This time it is my sister who is diagnosed with an incredibly rare cancer. Ugghhh Lord, here we go again. I wish I could take it away from her Lord. She has two boys, a husband and she’s my sister Lord, my friend. I can’t even imagine what that time was like for her, to be faced with such odds and the things she had to endure. My private cry became,” Please don’t take her now, I’m not ready. God, it’s too much, to YOU I surrender.” The doctors make it sound like they have won the lottery, a chance to learn more about such a rare form of cancer. “Learn on someone else! God hear my prayers and please heal her…please let this be YOUR answer…” Two painful surgeries later, God gave us the answer…HE gave us HIS…. She is now cancer free… and let me SCREAM it…”HOW SWEET IT IS! Praise be to your name God, How sweet it is!”
I can tell you I would have loved to end the year on such a sweet note; But the wind blew fiercely and the waves grew mightily and how it did rock this fragile boat. Sick with the flu, confined to rest, I soon learn my aunt is in the hospital. Once again, nothing good can be said. An unforeseen cancer has now consumed her and confined her to life support and an ICU bed. I began to pray, “Lord, please let me get better so I can go see her, tell her I love her and say good bye.” God I didn’t want to feel the way I felt, but honestly I did; and again I wanted to know… “why?” I did get better in time to send my love. It was a hard scene to enter into, with all the sorrow on everyone’s faces and the pain in the air. Yes the pain is still present in different ways for each of us, but I know my Aunt is with YOU God, without pain and without a care. To this truth, that my aunt made a choice to believe in Your Son, Christ crucified and risen; I know she is HIS. And though it may bring sorrow to not have her here LORD, I can hear her, in Your presence, saying with me, “How sweet it is.”
That was the last straw for this camel’s back. I am broken face flat on the floor heavy with weariness and defeat. I cry from this place of lowliness, “Lord, I am empty and I cannot stand, I have nothing left of me to give; emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally I am beat.” I would love to say that God and I had a “WOW” moment and everything was fine, “golly gee whiz.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned, even Christians suffer, but Praise be to God, we are not alone; “How sweet it is.”
What a ride this year of 2010 has been, one I wish to have never gotten on in the first place. Then again, if I hadn’t been on this carousel, would I have gotten so familiar with my Abba’s face? I can tell you that now I can breath, I can breathe deeply of all things that are HIS. Oh to breath and smell the aroma of God…”How sweet it is.” God is working all things out in HIS perfect timing; He is mending, HE is healing. What He has planned next, I don’t know? Whatever it is I will confidently walk to it, humbly crawl through it, and God will carry me out of it, for where HE leads me I will go. The difference now is that my heart’s desire has changed in this life I live. LORD GOD may I be a sweet smelling aroma to You and have the honor to hear You say, “How sweet it is.”
~ Thank YOU Lord for working in Your ways and not my own. Thank You for emptying me so that You may begin to pour all of You into me. In emptying me, then and only then, were You able to begin working… Working on my marriage; I am more in love with my husband now then when we first got married. Working in the Utmost Inner parts of me….as an empty vessel, I wait to be filled by You Abba.~
~ AMEN ~
~ May you be blessed in our more then good God~ HIS ~ Sharon <
Mon 24/1/11, 10:35 pm
All Glory to GOD….
~ How Sweet It Is ~
Oh how I long to utter these words true from my heart; “How sweet it is.” When the trials come and blow you around like wheat to be chaffed, that’s when you’re tested to see if you truly are HIS. It may seem a simple phrase to let escape from your mouth; I would agree if that’s all you wish and desire.It’s when you are walking in the Valley of death and all you can feel is an all consuming fire.
The year started out with my marriage in trouble and pain beyond either of our abilities to mend.I believe God heard our cries for help, but before the answer could sink in; our carnival ride would soon begin…To awaken in the middle of the night by an unexpected phone call with nothing but bad news to bear. “He’s been shot… he didn’t make it….he’s dead…”A moment of silence while It sinks in, then uncontrollable sobs pour forth with the pain I now wear. My first thoughts are,”My husband is not even home, he’s away at the academy. God how do I even begin to tell him his brother is dead?” “God I want to be with my husband…. Why his brother, he has a little girl? God, are you listening? Did you hear what I said?” Though I cannot see any light in this dark night that came to pass with its agony and hell. Lord, to speak the truth would be to admit, in this moment my faith did waiver and my trust in YOU fell. The only light in this darkness is to feel the arms of my Abba and with it a comfort only HE can give. To this kind of peace, to this kind of love, with all my heart I can truly say, “How sweet it is.”
Only a short time later, my husband’s aunt is living her last few days in the hospital dying of her secret cancer. Now his grandma has to bury another loved one she never wanted to outlive, and is seeking an answer. Honestly, so was I Lord. First the grandson and now her daughter…the pain she must be feeling. My prayer was, “God please, work a miracle. I know You can if You so choose. Please Great Physician, work a healing.” One thing is absolute; God will always answer you, even if the answer is not the one you want HIM to give. Though I may not understand all Your ways LORD, I am thankful that You are faithful to always answer and to this I can say, “How sweet it is.”
Before enough time had passed to adjust to this tragedy, another one, of similar sort, arises. I put on a brave face but to tell you the truth, on the inside I’m shouting, “Lord hear me please, no more surprises!” This time it is my sister who is diagnosed with an incredibly rare cancer. Ugghhh Lord, here we go again. I wish I could take it away from her Lord. She has two boys, a husband and she’s my sister Lord, my friend. I can’t even imagine what that time was like for her, to be faced with such odds and the things she had to endure. My private cry became,” Please don’t take her now, I’m not ready. God, it’s too much, to YOU I surrender.” The doctors make it sound like they have won the lottery, a chance to learn more about such a rare form of cancer. “Learn on someone else! God hear my prayers and please heal her…please let this be YOUR answer…” Two painful surgeries later, God gave us the answer…HE gave us HIS…. She is now cancer free… and let me SCREAM it…”HOW SWEET IT IS! Praise be to your name God, How sweet it is!”
I can tell you I would have loved to end the year on such a sweet note; But the wind blew fiercely and the waves grew mightily and how it did rock this fragile boat. Sick with the flu, confined to rest, I soon learn my aunt is in the hospital. Once again, nothing good can be said. An unforeseen cancer has now consumed her and confined her to life support and an ICU bed. I began to pray, “Lord, please let me get better so I can go see her, tell her I love her and say good bye.” God I didn’t want to feel the way I felt, but honestly I did; and again I wanted to know… “why?” I did get better in time to send my love. It was a hard scene to enter into, with all the sorrow on everyone’s faces and the pain in the air. Yes the pain is still present in different ways for each of us, but I know my Aunt is with YOU God, without pain and without a care. To this truth, that my aunt made a choice to believe in Your Son, Christ crucified and risen; I know she is HIS. And though it may bring sorrow to not have her here LORD, I can hear her, in Your presence, saying with me, “How sweet it is.”
That was the last straw for this camel’s back. I am broken face flat on the floor heavy with weariness and defeat. I cry from this place of lowliness, “Lord, I am empty and I cannot stand, I have nothing left of me to give; emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally I am beat.” I would love to say that God and I had a “WOW” moment and everything was fine, “golly gee whiz.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned, even Christians suffer, but Praise be to God, we are not alone; “How sweet it is.”
What a ride this year of 2010 has been, one I wish to have never gotten on in the first place. Then again, if I hadn’t been on this carousel, would I have gotten so familiar with my Abba’s face? I can tell you that now I can breath, I can breathe deeply of all things that are HIS. Oh to breath and smell the aroma of God…”How sweet it is.” God is working all things out in HIS perfect timing; He is mending, HE is healing. What He has planned next, I don’t know? Whatever it is I will confidently walk to it, humbly crawl through it, and God will carry me out of it, for where HE leads me I will go. The difference now is that my heart’s desire has changed in this life I live. LORD GOD may I be a sweet smelling aroma to You and have the honor to hear You say, “How sweet it is.”
~ Thank YOU Lord for working in Your ways and not my own. Thank You for emptying me so that You may begin to pour all of You into me. In emptying me, then and only then, were You able to begin working… Working on my marriage; I am more in love with my husband now then when we first got married. Working in the Utmost Inner parts of me….as an empty vessel, I wait to be filled by You Abba.~
~ AMEN ~
Mon 24/1/11, 10:36 pm
Thanks for sharing that Jen! That is so awesome. I hope you can bring your daughters to a show sometime. “one less” is their song! -mw
Mon 24/1/11, 10:37 pm
matthew@matthewwest.com
Mon 24/1/11, 10:42 pm
that is a scripture worth clinging to. thanks for the comment. -mw
Tue 25/1/11, 1:56 am
God blesses you Matthew and it is to the world’s benefit that you listen and share. Thank you
Tue 25/1/11, 2:13 am
I believe every trial we go through is to teach us something and encourage others. I believe God doesn’t always remove the mountains for us, but helps us to climb them. It’s more about how much you learn from the journey than you getting to the actual destination.
Tue 25/1/11, 2:51 am
Thanks for the wonderful reminder!
I went through a number of trials over the course of two years and I couldn’t see why God would let me go through them. Until for every single trial I had, I knew someone else who was going through a similar thing and was able to use how God had helped me out of the struggles to help other people. I guess that’s just how God’s amazing plan works
Tue 25/1/11, 4:09 am
Wow… =) AMEN!
Tue 25/1/11, 7:06 am
Beth Moore once said something that made so much sense to me. She said that when we are enduring trials and tribulations, it’s not God’s job to make us comfortable… He makes us “comfort-ABLE”. We, through our own experience, become able to comfort others when they go through something similar. How true!
Just two years after my husband I were married, we found out that we were never going to have children. After 9 years of bitterness and resentment, and the impending destruction of our marriage, I finally let it go… and gave it to God. People always told me “Give it to God” but when you can’t fathom what that phrase actually means, it can frustrate the heck out of you! “Give it to God…” I wasn’t dealing with a physical object that I could just give away, this was my marriage, my emotions, my future. How was I supposed to “give” that to God?
One day while falling apart, I opened my Bible. I prayed. “Lord, please give me a message of encouragement. I need you.” I turned to Exodus 14:12-14. After reading it, I realized that I had become a slave to my bitterness and resentment, my “Egypt”, if you will. The Lord clearly showed me that He sent his Son to set me free. Then He asked me, “With the gift of freedom I have offered you, do you really want to live as a slave in Egypt?” Through tears I cried, “no.” Then, the presence of the Holy Spirit filled my dining room with a glorious light. I could feel Christ standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders. He looked up to our Father in Heaven and said, “She’s got it.”
I was free.
Years later, God promised me Isaiah 54. From beginning to end, I can identify with Israel’s plight. I know That God can and will use the broken pieces of our lives for His glory. And now, because my husband and I have no earthly children of our own… we are free to travel to Central Africa and minister to hundreds of children who have no earthly parents to call their own.
Thank you, and PRAISE to you, Abba Father…
Daddy God!
Tue 25/1/11, 7:51 am
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing your story. God is using you, and your trials. Amazing-mw
Tue 25/1/11, 9:42 am
You are so inspiring. Praying that girls mother gets her voice back just like you did. I will never forget the day you told your testimony of faith at Jfest 2008 in Chattanooga, Tn. I was just sitting there listening to all the christian artists sing and enjoying their joyful sound. I had listened to your music but that day your music gained a different meaning. When you came on that afternoon, my heart was touch, my eyes had opened, and I could feel that God was there speaking though you. I was so moved by your story of faith that you had in God, and how you prayed to able to play the guitar and sing again not once but twice. You have a purpose and are fulfilling that purpose though touching peoples lives though your music. I was baptized in 2003 but felt like hearing your story was my 13 moment. My daughters were moved by your story and music that they were actually baptist after that Jfest. I have been so inspired though your music that Nov. 2010 I drove 10 hours to visit my friend in Clearwater, FL and took her to your “Story of Your Life” show. I had not seen my friend (pictured on the right) in 20+ years, she is battling terminal cancer, she had very little faith, and she never heard your music before. Since seeing your show she loves your music, prays everyday, now her tumor on her spine is shrinking and things are looking up for her and her family. All I can say is thank you and hope that that lady can listen to your story live and be touch and healed though prayer. Looking forward to seeing you March 11 in Chattanooga, Tn again and praying that the power stays on this time.
♥
“Ask the LORD to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.” ~Proverbs 16:3~
Tue 25/1/11, 9:53 am
Oh boy can I relate! Growing up with a father who was abusive in EVERY way possible, My vow was if I ever had a daughter I would die protecting her. Well I got married and I have 2 boys 1 girl and when she was 6 she came to me to tell me her dad was sexually abusing her while I was at work. In the days that followed I don’t remember alot of detail. What I do remember is this: In the raw, deepest pain I could ever feel, I felt God. He drew me to Him and clothed me in a blanket strength that I never knew existed. I was able to give my daughter so much more than a raging lunatic for a Mom, I was able to show her the ONLY way to heal is through our Lord. She is 12 now and the boys are 13 and 18. God used her pain to heal me from my past and to be a better mom and women of God. The outside world does’nt understand the importance of forgiveness, but we do. Each of my children and myself have forgiven him (he is still in prison) that does not mean he will be part of our lives, but rather we have chosen to let God do what He needs to without getting in the way. What Satan intends to destroy us, God WILL use to grow our character.
Tue 25/1/11, 10:53 am
God doesn’t waste a hurt, I am learning … and your faith, your convicted journey He brought you through is further validation of that. My husband started chemo yesterday for a rare blood disease … it is autoimmune hemolytic anemia; his body has been destroying his own blood for an unknown reason. We sought the Lord diligently, His will and His alone; and we believe He led us to the doctor we now are receiving treatment from. Chemo is a scary thing, and while we are SO grateful this is not cancer, it is still daunting to face. Your journey has, is, and will help so many people, Matthew; thank you for having the faith and courage to stay the course and now share it with us all, as God’s Word says “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Tue 25/1/11, 11:44 am
Hey Matthew I don’t know if you’ll ever read this but I’m a huge fan of what you’re doing and deeply respect you’re character and the way you let Jesus shine through. I know by personal experiance how amazing just listening to someone’s testimony can be. I was a rebellias teen who had been abandoned on the streats in china because I’m a girl. Then I went to a teens vbs and heard a speaker who was only two years older than me and had a fire and maturity I could only hope to get to. He was also given up by his 16 yr old mother and adopted by a lady who had prayed for a baby for 16 years. Instead of being angry and asking why he kept thanking God that his young mother stood up agains he family hat pushed her for an abortian. Somebody he prayed that God would let him find her to tell her he loved her. Anyways, I sat knowing that God was showng me what he could do with me if I would let him. That night I dedicated my life to god and later during testimony time I shared it with the teens. It had been a lifelong battle fighting who I was and how I was born and I shared that too. Two days later a girl I’d never seen before told me she was so encoureged. Weeks laterite heard tha another girl who was born with birth defects gave testimony that she was thanking God for letting her hear me because it reminded her that God does everything well.
Sorry for making it so long but just let that girl and he mom know that everything will turn out for good, even an scars of any kind. We all are marked by them as belonging to God! Pray this helps and may God bless you!
Tue 25/1/11, 11:57 am
Wow that was an awesome story and how you touched that women. Your cd “The Story Of Your Life’ is the most amazing cd I ever heard of. I also weep over some of the song & words in the songs because they touch my heart. I am so happy that God let me go see you in concert I thank him everyday for that. I also thank you for the wonderful music you sing because it is all awesome.