Letting the Holy One Have The Say
I made a commitment to live the Christian life as a believer of Jesus Christ at fourteen but have to say I knew the presence of God long before that. Through childhood trauma God met me in the thin places, the suffering moments, the fearful dark of broken humanity. By the time I was fourteen, I had little will to live and it was Jesus or suicide, so I thought I would give Jesus a try.
Wow, I never looked back. The Holy One met me.
With becoming a believer of Jesus Christ at that age and never turning back, there develops over time a sense of entitlement, a sense of pride in one's right living, or righteousness. I personally believed if I served God, then He would serve me the good things in life. Health, wealth, and success was my right. Why did I believe this? Because I had a pride. I believed that my right living demanded that God give only what the world would consider good gifts. I hand-picked many Scriptures (a lot out of context) to substantiate my wanna-be belief. I skipped over verses like Job 2:10 "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?"
Then sorrow hit. My husband left his belief in Jesus Christ, my children floundered in their faith. Yes, I did have wealth and health and then it was taken from me. My daughter suffered with ADHD, and my body writhed in pain for five years without diagnosis. Our wealth was stripped down to almost nothing, my husband chose to be unfaithful. This beautiful image of a family I worked so hard to build crumbled at my feet. Our reputation was smeared in the mud of gossip. My world disintegrated around me and I was angry with the Holy One I served. I asked for bread and He gave me a stone. I had loved and served Him and what did I get in return—pain and lots of it.
But through the crucible of suffering I learned what I never would have grasp otherwise. I was broken, bruised, once again craving death and I learned a truth now carved in the flesh of my scarred broken heart. When the Bible says that God will never leave nor forsake his children, it is truth. (Heb. 13:5) God met me in a supernatural way. I now fear nothing, for I truly know He will ever be my source of strength.
What a revelation to let God be sovereign, and to learn to trust Him in the suffering. What freedom to no longer tell God how my life should go, but accept whatever He deems necessary. How proud I was to think I could write my own story, be the god of my universe by telling the Holy One what and how to orchestrate my future.
Mother Teresa said, "Let Him (God) do with me whatever He wants as He wants for as long as He wants if my darkness is light to some soul."1 I now see how He wanted to use my less than perfect life to speak into the lives of others. The pain has purpose.
Joy is no longer based on happiness, or happy situations, joy is present every day of every year. Peace is no longer dependent on everyone liking me or agreeing with me. Peace flows from the Holy One and has depth far beyond the struggles of this life.
I finally understand Is. 64:6 My righteousness is like a filthy rag. I am a sinner. I am redeemed through Jesus. I am in need every day of the Holy One. And I thank God for the suffering because it has opened my soul to this amazing truth … Ann Voskamp says it beautifully in her book The Broken Way. "Brokenness happens in a soul so the power of God can happen in a soul."2
- Isaiah 43:15 "I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King."
- Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
- Acts 3:14&15 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead."
If not on this side of heaven, but surely on the other side "all" humanity will acknowledge the Holy One.
- Romans 14:10&11 "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: (Is. 45:23) As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."
So, let's rejoice in the Holy One. Let's use our suffering to encourage another. Let's not judge our brother or sister. Let us come humbly before the Holy One today and every day. Let us bend our knees to the awesome, all-encompassing Holy One so that we can live life to the fullest.
Listen to this amazing song called "Holy One" by New Hope Oahu music. The setting and the Hawaiian Dance is so beautiful.
1 Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta, ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007) 212
2Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way, (Zondervan, 2016) 20
All Scripture taken from the NKJV
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About the author
Blossom Turner is an award-winning novelist, and a free-lance writer published in Chicken Soup and Kernels of Hope anthologies, and former newspaper columnist on health and fitness. A Word Guild semi-finalist for Anna's Secret, Katherine's Arrangement, Amelia’s Heartsong, and a Word Guild winner for Best Romance for Lucinda’s Defender. She has found her home in the writing of historical fiction but is open to wherever God leads. The many 5-star reviews attest to the power of love and romance authentically woven into the Shenandoah Bride Series about five sisters and their five love stories.
Blossom lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, David, of forty years and their dog Lacey named after Lacey Spring, Virginia, where this series takes place. A former businesswoman, personal trainer, and mother of two grown children she is now pursuing her lifelong dream of writing full-time. A hopeless romantic at heart, she believes all story should give the reader significant entertainment value. However, her writing embodies the struggles of real life. She infuses the reality of suffering with the hope of Christ to give a healthy dose of relatable encouragement to her reader. Her desire is to leave the reader with a yearning to live for Christ on a deeper level, or at the very least, create a hunger to seek for more.
Co-author Suzie Zanewhich
Suzie is a certified life coach, leader of emotional health, and resource specialist. She has found her niche as a soul coach.
Suzie finds purpose in empowering individuals to move towards growth, healing, and alignment with their authentic self. Suzie is driven by a calling to live authentically, as the person God created her to be, to reach her fullest potential and lead others to do the same. Her passion is to help others find meaning through discovering their strengths, gifts, personality, temperament and core values.
Suzie is a life-long learner, continuously immersing herself in new courses to learn more about human behaviour, relationships, psychology, child development, emotions, trauma and healing. Because of her craving to always learn more she has earned the title of resource specialist in the area of self-discovery.
Suzie Zanewich lives with her husband in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has a patchwork family of four grown children, two daughters, two sons and three granddaughters.
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