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faithful is his name
by Rachel Soto
Rachel has often shared that God has truly given her the desires of her heart in her husband and boys. She has been an active Mosaic member for 19 years. Some of her favorite things are cooking, dates with her husband, great coffee, and spending time with friends |
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The other day I received a phone call telling me that an old dear friend had passed away. This was more than just an old friend, he was someone I had once loved and had hoped to eventually marry. When the relationship ended, I was devastated. The natural human reaction was to ponder the “what if” questions. In doing so, my Heavenly Father brought the issue of His sovereignty to mind.
The definition of sovereignty is, “of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his good pleasure.” As I have shared my testimony, I have always said that I have lived the verse from 1 John 4:19, “We loved because he first loved us.” As an adult who didn’t accept Christ until the age of 24, I have been able to look back on my life and see that even before I knew him personally, he lovingly watched over me and guided me.
I was born into a Catholic family and from around the age of 8, God had seared my heart with a clear conscience in the understanding of right and wrong. So much to the point that my family would often make fun of me at times for being a “goody-goody.” Sometimes it hurt and other times I didn’t care because I knew it was the right thing to do. Everything from returning money that was overpaid to me to questioning my parents on the way they lived their lives, for it didn’t coincide with how they told me how to live. I was told I was too naive and that in time I would ‘wise up’.
Bitterness has had very deep roots in my family for many generations, yet God has lovingly protected me and prevented it from taking root in my own heart through understanding the act of forgiveness. Like a spectator at a football stadium, I sat back and witnessed the absolute destruction that bitterness caused as it destroyed relationship after relationship within my own immediate and extended family.
Unfortunately, the strength I have had in these areas did not cross over into the area of discernment and I struggled through many difficult relationships, yet God, in his mercy, protected me from what could have been some severe consequences. Yes, lots of tears and heartbreak but all part of His molding and shaping process.
The struggle in this area was largely due to the feeling of a void in my life and heart, and at the age of 24, I began searching for meaning and purpose in my life, while praying and asking God for direction. In the months that followed, he brought a friend into my life who shared his faith with me and in time, led me in a prayer to accept and follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior. How excited and privileged I felt to now know and love the One who had been loving me all along. Little did I know that my friend who led me to Christ would eventually become my husband. Oh how thankful I am for His best, for my husband is truly my best friend. God partnered me with someone who has consistently challenged me, encouraged me, and supported me in all areas of my life.
I have continued to be aware of God’s hand on my life as He led me to Africa last summer. Two weeks there changed my perspective on life and I have been able to use my experiences there to speak into the lives of my children and friends who do not yet know Christ. And so my life goes on with the keen understanding that God has allowed everything I have experienced, both good and bad, to happened for a reason and it has created me into the person I am today and have yet to become.
One of my favorite quotes is from a Bible Study with Beth Moore where she said, “God’s people are not driven by coincidence. We are a people of providence.” I love viewing my life as a huge chess board with God as the Master Player who strategically moves each piece into place in order for his master plan to unfold and be glorified in the process. Such is the sovereignty of God.
Psalm 16
Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take their names on my lips.
Lord, you have assigned me my
portions and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for
me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasure at your right hand.
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