What God Has Done for Us
This past week I celebrated three years of the work I’m doing in China with my family. Within that time we sold everything and moved to a country we knew little about, studied a difficult tonal language, started a local business, and renovated a dilapidated dorm on a Chinese farm. We did all this in hopes of bringing teenage orphan girls who are leaving the orphanage system into a family to give them a hope for their future. For our celebration we had around 100 people come to a cookout and activities on our farm.
During this same week I am finished up a men’s group that I have been leading here. The first thing we were told when we arrived was that foreigners are too busy doing their own thing that it is hard to get to know people. But over the last two and half years, we had 30 men from 15 countries come to the group. These men have shared their hearts with one another and blessed my time here.
Over these three years, Allison and I have also published three books. This blog now gains 9,000 visitors each month and over 20,000 followers through the social networks. I am grateful for everyone who has given their time to read and encourage my writings on prayer.
God Wants Us to Celebrate
God has done amazing things for us. The work we are doing will continue, but we need to celebrate what God has done for us so we will not overwhelm ourselves about what still needs to happen. God wants us to celebrate.
Celebration comes hard for me. While I want to celebrate and be celebrated, I often feel I’m not worthy of it. I feel others will not want to appreciate me for what I have accomplished. I know I am not alone in feeling this way.
The problem with this view is that it belittles the way God sees me. He thinks I am amazing. He thinks I can do incredible things. He truly thinks I can change the world. Celebration reminds us of how far we have come. It reminds us of God’s hand in the process. It gives us faith that we will continue to be amazing, continue to do incredible things, and continue to change the world.
Testimonies of God’s Goodness Increases Our Faith
“Every time God does something for someone else,
it’s an invitation for that same thing to happen to you.”
– Seth Dahl
I love this quote because it taps into the heart of God. You are the most important person to God. There is nobody He loves more than you. Therefore when He does something for someone else, you can know that He will want to do something just as great for you. You are not a forgotten orphan in God’s family. You have a seat of honor. You are invited to eat at the grown-up table. Your presence is requested and desired. He wants you to feast in His good pleasure.
I share my successes because I would love you to celebrate with me. I haven’t fully achieved all that I have set out to do, but I see what God has done and know He will continue to do what He has started.
I also share these accomplishments to raise your faith. The testimonies of God’s blessings are supposed to encourage us to believe God for more. I would also love to hear your stories of God’s blessings. Let’s fill this Thanksgiving season with retellings of all that God has done for us. He hasn’t left us alone; He is intimately involved with our lives.
Hi Kevin,
I really liked this post, especially the quote you put in. I wonder if God had you put that in there to comfort me over something. You know how in the last comment I mentioned about how it will seem like God may be pleased with me and perhaps delighting in me, but then I will either read the Bible or some other devotional or Christian book and get a totally opposite impression? Well, that is what happened again yesterday, and it seemed like another confirmation that I am not really saved. Then, today, I looked up something on the internet about doubting my salvation, and I read about this other girl who doubted her salvation and God’s love for her. And that even though she could try to affirm herself with the Bible, the doubts never subsided, because her doubts were on an emotional level, not an intellectual level. She then talked about how God started affirming her and letting her feel His love and presence and opened her eyes to His blessings and acts of kindness, and how now, she doesn’t have those doubts. Fighting feelings of slight jealousy, I felt even worse after that, for I rarely feel God’s presence, and lately, I seem to feel left out of His affection. I need God to reach me on an emotional level, too, but feel like it’s wrong to want that. I still feel quite hopeless and really wonder if I am even saved, but that quote you mentioned seemed to apply to this issue. So do you think that God will reach me on an emotional level too? I really long to experience God, not just learn about Him. I see that He does give me attention and blesses me, but for some reason I still have the tendency to feel left out anyway. It really makes no sense. But thank you for this post. It is really encouraging.
Although on the subject of telling what God has done for us, I felt compelled to share one that He just did for me today. Lately, for some reason, I have been having a craving for bananas, and I expressed to my mom about me wanting to have banana bread this Thanksgiving, since I get heart burn from pumpkin pie. But I knew that she wouldn’t have the time or the makings to prepare it, so I didn’t really ask for it. So I was satisfied with having oranges for dessert. Well, today, when mom was traveling to work by the usual commuter train, at the train station, there were Amish people selling their baked goods to passer-byers. She decided to buy some bread loaves, and among the loaves was banana bread! So I got my own little banana bread loaf! The exact dessert I craved! I know it’s a small thing, but it still touched me that He did it. I truly didn’t expect it.
Thanks for inviting us to share our experiences and thoughts. I hope you don’t get tired of seeing my comments. But thank you.
Rachel
Dear Rachel,
Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you connected with the quote. And, I LOVE YOUR STORY. God is so good to care about seemingly little things.
Thanks,
Kevin
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