A Friends Story

Someone once said there are folks out in the world that we have contact with everyday who are making up their minds about Jesus and their only resource is what they see and hear through the media and in the lives of those who call themselves Christians.

 Once we earnestly seek God, we must know that He will reveal himself to us. But we must understand that what He reveals will be radical compared to our culture. Jesus tells us that the wisdom of the world and it's values are not of His Kingdom. All through the scripture we find examples of how the ways of God are opposite of the world. He tells us in Matthew 5: 44 to love our enemies. Later in verse 37, he tells us that our word should be valid enough without making legal oaths. On and on Jesus presents examples of how we are to seek His ways that are so different from the ways of the world. The apostle Paul in many of his writings follows the same example; Christians are not to take other Christians to court, we should get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, there should not be any hint of impurity, we are to be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another. All of these being extremely difficult to honor, especially in times of trials 

Every once in awhile we run across one of those people whose lives are not perfect, but through daily seeking God, they are able to exhibit, as best they can, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. I have had the privilege of having several friends that I consider a seeker and whose lives have made an impact on me.  In 2007, we experienced one of the worst recessions in our history. The housing and real estate markets were almost completely destroyed. Good people, people who were financially sound and had been in the business a long time were hit hard and many lost much of their worldly possessions. One such friend was one of those who was hit hard. None of us thought the recession would be as deep and long as it turned out to be. Those who had been in the business for some time, had experienced these recessions before and many had come through surviving. But this time it was different.

He had just joined one of our Bible study groups just prior to the bottom hitting. As things began to deteriorate further in his business, he opened up his situation to our group and for the next several years, we walked with him as he shared his struggle. I have to admit that when the details of his situation were revealed, I was one of many in our group who would have thrown in the towel. But not my friend. Tediously and with tremendous agony, cost, heart ache and determination, he sought ways to resolve his situation with his creditors. Not many of these creditors were accommodating, nor did they care if they ruined his life. It was hard callous business on their part. We would like to think that businesses can be compassionate in times of trouble, and in some cases they are. There were some in my friends situation who extended compassion as long as they could. But others brought the hammer down. 

As my friend would bring us up to date on his dealing with the banks, he would always share how God was working is his heart to seek His will and not his own. In the fours years of this battle, he never relinquished his commitment to seek God and His ways through it all. Each day would begin with his unique prayer to each person of God; to God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit as each had their part in his journey. He went through a lot and there were times of real struggle. But he never lost his trust in God. That trust came through an earnest seeking and being willing to surrender all his wants and possessions as God worked through him and in him. 

 In the end, through much cost on his part and many days of offering a solution and waiting on decisions, he reached a settlement. That settlement would pay off what everyone stipulated was their requirement, but it stipulated a time limit that was set by the bank. It required the possible surrender of his assets if the settlement was not reached in time. Months and eventually two years went by with no resolution. My friend never moved from his walk with God. With refusals from the bank for extensions and only two days left on the time allotment, the provisions of the settlement were reached.

My friend had lost a lot of money and assets. But he never lost his commitment to seek God first, His kingdom and His righteousness. His story is one of those where others could see the true Jesus and how He can work in a person's life.