One plague is affecting Christianity: too much self-knowledge. Thus, many believers believe they have become knowledgeable because they have access to the Bible, because they can understand the Bible with anyone’s help. Yet, God has never intended for us to become all-knowing individuals. That is the reason why he first did not let us to come into this world by our selves: we have to depend on parents for knowledge, before we can start getting ours; then we need to acquire knowledge from school, other people around us until we form our own knowledge… and even as adults, sometimes it is at work we need to acquire knowledge from seeing other people behaving. God can teach us through others!
My brother,my sister, if I am a Christian today, it is through the knowledge I acquired 23 years ago, in a Mormon family! Yes, you read it well. I had grown up in a strong catholic family, but all the knowledge I got from my family or catholic church had never been attractive enough to make we want to know God. But, in 1992, God enabled me to become friend with a Mormon young lady, who offered me my first Bible and that I used to admire for her simplicity and self-discipline. When I visited her family, see them living so peacefully changed my perception of God. However, the role they had to play in my life ended there, for now the Lord lead me to a Christian church where I was going to get to know him. Yes, God can use anybody to drag us to Him, and that was the case.
Today I am a servant of the Most High, and I glorify Him for teaching me through people all the time, because no university would have allowed me this: Practice is better than theory sometimes! My friends, I got the greatest lesson of trusting in the Lord that any theological school could never give me yesterday. Allow me to share it with you, hoping that this will increase your confidence in Christ, especially if you need it these days. Every Thursdays I attend an intercession meeting with other servants of God in my area. Yesterday, one of them told me her husband passed away. Last week, she had said it but for some reason I don’t know why I had thought that he had passed away a long time ago, but I had not asked her any questions. So, yesterday, she was surprised, to see me surprised to hear that her husband had passed away last Wednesday… and this woman of God was with us the following day… and this servant of God was with us the next day … and yesterday too. I was speechless, not knowing what to say. Yesterday she told me about the love of God that surpasses all, she thanked God for her husband because he was a Christian and at least he would not have to suffer because he was ill, and she thanked God for giving her the strength to continue to do what she has to do to serve Him… My friends, God taught me something yesterday. Yes, we need to learn to trust and thank Him NO MATTER what! How many of us would have stayed home to mourn? How many of us would have had “my husband has died” written on their forehead?… Can you imagine that we had a meeting with this woman of God the day after her husband passed away, and she was cheerful, joking as usual, lively so much that I did not even notice she was mourning? Lord, I thank you for this great lesson of life. May this lesson strengthen someone who needs your comfort or your strength today. Yes, let’s learn to listen to the Word of God and to practice it. Yes, let’s “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.