Hello, and welcome to Faith is Hope.
I’m Dave,
I’ve been watching what’s going on around America, and between all of us. And I have to tell you the road we’re traveling on is pulling us away from each other, our families, our faith, and God. I see the lies, deceit, and corruption going on around us. Truth, not my truth, some truth or government truth. But God’s truth, is found in his word. Because God is truth, and anything that is not the truth is not of God.
I want to tell you a little about who I am, and why this is so important to all of us.
I grew up in a religious setting, and our faith was very important to us. As a child, I would dream about the bible stories told to us. About God and heaven. Jesus, with all the little kids sitting around listening to the stories he told. But those dreams turned to nightmares, and the streets weren’t gold. You see the evil that influences this world, it destroys lives, families, and even the dreams of a child. My stepdad was an abusive alcoholic and we all paid the price. I would beg God every night, please don’t make me face another day. And every morning I woke up. After years of unanswered prayers I cursed God, I turned my back on him. I hated God and I blamed him for everything that happened. I wanted nothing to do with God or Christians, and I went out of my way to hurt both.
I lived with that hate until I was in my late 30s, and that’s when I met this guy who has a very strong Christian faith. He spent years talking with me about some of the things I’d done in my life. It took a lot of patience on his part, and a lot of “proof of the truth”. He talked about salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus, but I had a hard time believing God would ever want anything to do with me. I honestly didn’t think there was anything he could tell me or show me that would change my mind. I mean, why would God forgive me? How could God just forget everything, like it never existed? Why would God love me or be there, when I turned from him, I hated him? So he asked me two questions. First, how big is God? I said what? How big is God? Yeah, how big? Is God bigger than you and I? Yeah, I guess. Is he bigger than a mountain? Yeah maybe, I don’t know? What about the universe? I said I don’t know why? Then he asked me which of my sins was bigger than God? That’s it, he got me. So I started thinking, now God created the heavens and the earth, so can anything I’ve done really be greater than the one who created everything? That question really got me thinking, but I still kept God, and religion at arm’s length. But God doesn’t like being kept out of things. Especially our lives. And when God decides he’s going to get close, believe me, He’s going to get real close; if you let him.
In 1996 I was injured in an accident where I worked. I had multiple surgeries on my back and neck and the end result left me without feeling or the use of my legs. Every day was the same as the day before, pain. I took so much pain medication that I could barely function. So many times I told my wife, that’s it, no more. I can’t live with all this pain anymore. I just wanted it over.
Pain is a very dark place, and it’s very easy, too easy, to stop looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. Now, I thank God every day for my wife not letting me give up.
Fast forward to January 2016. God showed me a vision in a dream. The vision had three parts. I saw myself laying in a hospital room, with all kinds of wires and tubes hooked up to me. I heard and felt everything going on. Then, I saw myself die. That’s when everything went black, not dark, black. There was nothing. No sight, no sound, no sensations at all, nothing. Finally, God showed me a part of heaven. Not all of it, I didn’t see God or Jesus. God showed me what I needed to see and he gave me what he decided I needed. There’s a lot more to that vision than all visions, but that’s not what God wants us to focus on.
When I woke up I stood up and started walking down the hallway to my wife. Now, I didn’t heal myself. The doctors and specialists didn’t heal me. God healed me, and that’s a fact. There was no more pain, no more painkillers, nothing. In one night, God took it all away. I don’t know why God healed me. What I do know is God has a reason for everything he does. None of us know why God does what he does. But God does.
Has God shown me other things? Yes, he has, and I’ll talk more about that in later podcasts.
God makes each of us for a different purpose, and he gives each of us what we need for that purpose. When you drive down the Interstate and see all the different road signs, mile markers, signs that tell you where you are, and the direction you’re heading. But the one sign almost everyone watches for is the “Rest Area” sign. Well, that rest area is Jesus. See when you come to Jesus, he gives you everything that you need to get back on the road. I’m just holding the sign, letting everyone know that the rest area is just ahead of you. You can pull in or continue on, the choice is yours. But without Christ, what chance do any of us have of making our destination?
I have felt and I know the blessing of God’s mercy, his love, and forgiveness. I’ve witnessed God’s Glory.
Hey, I’m Dave
Next time, I’ll talk about Faith and Hope. And I’ll see you at the Rest Area.
