Last week I took my adopted son and his buddy (whom my friends adopted from Ethiopia) to the beach where I grew up in Florida. Watching the boys as they splashed in the gulf, played in the sand, and curiously poked at a dead jellyfish that had washed up on the shore, I marveled at God’s work in their lives.
Both boys had traumatic beginnings. By the age of four, while living in an impoverished village in Uganda, my son had lost his mom, dad, twin brother, and seven of his nine aunts and uncles. My son’s friend was abandoned and found near a river as a baby.
By God’s grace, the boys survived and are now a tangible expression of Psalm 105:5, “Remember the wonders [God] has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given.” I’ve applied this verse to the boys’ lives:
God’s wonderful works: The Lord orchestrated my meeting an orphaned child on the side of a road in Uganda. And He led my friends to Ethiopia on behalf my son’s buddy.
God’s miracles: Both boys are both alive and healthy.
The judgments He handed down: A Ugandan judge ruled that I am now my son’s mother. An Ethiopian judge appointed my friends as the parents of my son’s friend. Indeed, “O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5).
When challenges come, and I struggle to walk by faith, I’m hugely encouraged to think of these boys and remember what God has done. By reflecting on God’s past provisions, I (and you) will grow in trust and more aptly proclaim His good and faithful deeds.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Revelation 1:1-20
More:
At a time when you felt your “life was slipping away” (Jonah 2:7), how did remembering God bring you comfort and hope?
Next:
Call a friend and list, between the two of you, at least three ways you’ve seen God work and provide for you in the last two weeks (Psalm 143:5). How has God’s goodness in the past strengthened your faith today?
zaneyzelda on December 29, 2013 at 10:11 pm
that is great, but what about all those of that boy’s family who didn’t make it, who died ? I am a full on Christian, and I know God is sovereign,but so many Christians talk about the ‘ up side”, like these 2 boys, but don’t talk about the large number he had already lost to death…………… I think both sides need to be incorporated.
GChoo on December 30, 2013 at 11:40 am
Roxanne, thank you for sharing to us how God has blessed you and the people in your life.
It’s so true, many things happened not just by coincidence. We live in this sinful world but God never abandoned us … through the birth of Jesus. What sacrifical love.
Truly there is no end when we learn to look back in our lives the many blessings God had given us and is still giving. That’s what happened when i went on the Alpha course in my church recently even though i had been a christian for ages, i was blessed abundantly. When we learn to look back at what God had done for us, our faith will be strengthened. These are great reminders to see us through the storm in our lives. May i encourage all to start remembering … to reaffirm your conviction in God and believe that God is able to breakthrough the negativities at work, our relationships, health, etc in our lives. Bless all.