Looking Back

 

Regrets only clutter the mind and drain spiritual energy, for once we repent God forgives us and forgets our sins (Psalm 103:10-12). Resolutions seem to be a type of foolish vow that may be broken due to our own lack of discipline or an unanticipated turn in events (Deuteronomy 23:21-22; Judges 11:30-40). 

Resting in God is far better (Joshua 1:13; 1 Chronicles 23:25; Psalm 37:7), remembering His faithfulness (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13) and realizing that He is infinitely good and infinitely great (Psalm 143:10, Matthew 19:17; 2 Samuel 7:22; 2 Chronicles 2:5; Nehemiah 1:5, 8:6, 9:32; Job 36:26; Psalm 77:13,86:10,95:3, etc.).

As the moments of 2023 dwindle away, I find myself reflecting on God’s blessings not only this year but throughout my life. Reviewing how God has prepared each of us for our own unique ministries helps us to appreciate how He not only equipped us with gifts and talents appropriate for His calling on our lives (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13), but that He engineered our trials and even our weaknesses for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 12:9).

When God uses a timid, stammering man like Moses to deliver His people (Exodus 4:1-13), a disobedient rebel like Jonah to spread revival that saved Nineveh, and even a Christian-persecuting Pharisee like Saul (1 Timothy 1:12-15) to write most of the New Testament, He gets the glory. He operates in the supernatural, and not in the limited plane of man’s abilities or expectations (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27; Ephesians 3:20).

Looking back on how this blog came into being, I remember way back to high school when I dreaded the daily English class assignment of “Responses.” Every day, regardless of our mood or the press of other assignments, we had to write a brief essay, poem, or story that reflected our mood, thoughts or circumstances. That discipline, seemingly unneeded at the time, no doubt helped to generate a weekly blog post even when I am preoccupied with life’s distractions.

Decades later, and a few months after I was saved, my husband and I were flying to Japan to perform in dance shows. I was hoping to sleep on the long, crowded, flight, but God laid it on my heart to dig my laptop out of the overhead bin and to write about His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. I felt truly foolish as I started this task, thinking that I really knew very little on this subject; that I desperately needed the sleep as we would start rehearsing the day we arrived in Osaka; and that if I were going to write anything, I’d be much better off working on medical stories that were due once we returned home.

But I followed His lead and wrote about His attributes, the words springing to mind and leaping onto the computer screen with surprising speed and clarity. As soon as I had completed the essay, the battery died, and I settled into a peaceful sleep, knowing that I had been obedient in this assignment. Although I didn’t know it at the time, it would turn out to be a trial run for writing blog posts in the still distant future.

In our lives as amateur and then professional ballroom dance performers and competitors, God began preparing my husband Richard and me for our dance ministry long before we were saved. And the variety of beautiful songs we heard in our daily practice later helped inspire me to write Godly lyrics to these secular tunes.

But i might not have started writing song lyrics had it not been for our son Brendan, gifted in piano among his other God-given talents. Shortly after he was saved, he wanted to compete in a Christian musical competition by playing a Chopin prelude. But the rules were that any music played had to have Christian lyrics, so his youth pastor asked if I might be able to write words suitable for singing along with this piano accompaniment.

So I did, marking my debut in writing Christian lyrics, a passion of mine to this day. And when I provided a recording of my singing these words to my son's playing, his youth pastor asked if I could sing specials in church. So God worked these events together (Romans 8:28) for my good and His glory, opening the door for me leading to two new ministries!

One Sunday a few years after I was saved, I prayed my usual quick afternoon prayer to be Spirit-filled and yielded while singing in choir in the evening service. I sensed that God was saying, “Yes, but there is something else I want you to do.” So I prayed that He would reveal it to me, and literally moments later I bumped into the associate pastor in the hallway. He asked if I would consider teaching a weekly ladies’ Bible study class, as their teacher was moving out of town.

Despite my lack of formal Bible training, I agreed, after praying on it. I found that my knowledge and understanding of the Word grew far more quickly and in depth than it would have had I been only a student and not also a teacher (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 4:2). God was and is always faithful to lead me to Scripture verses, sermons, and other readings (including many of your blogs!) to encourage and guide me in teaching and in writing (Psalm 119:11,105).

But the class suffered many setbacks, including illness and trials of several members, and other circumstances resulting in their leaving the class. Some weeks I was teaching only one or two ladies. I became discouraged that the time and effort I was putting into my weekly lessons was reaching so few people and thought that a weekly blog of these lessons might be a way to reach more.

I knew nothing about blogging, but God had equipped me with computer skills needed for my occupation as a freelance medical journalist. As I began my blog on Memorial Day weekend in 2011, I wondered if anyone would read it. But God sent encouragement my way in a strange format – the movie “Julie and Julia,” in which the writer of a daily blog sees no activity or comments on her blog for six months, followed by an exponential and rapid growth in readership.

Looking back on all this, I am thankful for God’s provision, as the statistics, rankings, and followers continue to grow. But it’s not about the numbers, and if seeds planted in this blog lead even one soul closer to Christ, it would be well worth the effort. The blog has taken on a life of its own, covering topics independent of the Bible study class.

The greatest blessing is comments indicating that readers were blessed by the post. I am so thankful for each and every reader, and for the relationships with new and dear blogging friends all over the globe. I pray that God would continue to use me to spread His Word in this way. 

As time went on, my Bible study class again began to grow, not only in numbers but in fellowship with the ladies of all ages. I was thankful for this blessing, but God was leading my husband Richard and me to consider serving at another church. Sometimes God tests our obedience by leading us to a different ministry even when things are going well where we are,

The church we had been attending was about a 20 minute drive, yet every day we passed by another Baptist church just a few minutes away from our home. 

"I wonder if God might be calling us there instead," Richard mused one day. That Sunday our preacher used Acts 1:8 as his sermon text, stressing the importance of first witnessing and serving in Jerusalem -- metaphorically speaking, your own back yard. 

Richard and I sensed that this was a confirmation that we should explore our neighborhood church -- Fowler Ave. Baptist. We first visited on a Wednesday evening when no services were scheduled at our home church, and were blessed by meeting the Pastor, by discussing spiritual matters with him, and by his sermon with a clear exposition of God's Word. 

Shortly thereafter we visited Fowler Ave. on a Sunday morning, praying fervently that if it were God's will for us to serve there, that He would make it very clear to us. As we pulled into the parking lot, the Pastor was just getting out of his car, and he greeted us enthusiastically.

"I know you haven't decided yet whether we should be your church home," he said. "But if you did join, would you be interested in teaching a ladies' Bible study class?"

"Why, yes," I answered in surprise. "Do you by any chance also have any openings in your music ministry?"

"Would you like to sing a special today?" he offered.

As if these signs were not sufficiently clear, our jaws dropped as we entered the sanctuary for the first time (the Wednesday service we attended was held in the Fellowship Hall). There on the back wall of the sanctuary was a huge banner with the full text of Acts 1:8 !

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Could God be any clearer in His confirmation that it was His will for us to serve at Fowler Ave.? We joined a few weeks later, and I immediately started a ladies' Bible study. Praise God, this has grown over time, not only numerically but spiritually. It is such a blessing to teach a class of women so devoted to wanting to know God better, and His plan for their lives, and to supporting one another in fellowship and in prayer.

I am also blessed to have the opportunity to sing a special in most services, including the Christian lyrics I have written to secular music. Richard and I are both blessed to serve in several capacities and to know that we are fulfilling Acts 1:8, not only by witnessing and serving in our neighborhood, but even around the globe, as our church supports about sixty missionaries in foreign countries. Praise God for His direction and faithfulness!

But as 2024 approaches, may we not be preoccupied with the past, but instead live in God's will in the present moment and look forward to His unfolding plan for us. As the apostle Paul wrote:

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

In closing the post and 2023, a New Year’s blessing to all of you:

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives, edited and expanded 2023