CRUSHED HOPES AND DREAMSJeremiah 29 verse 11 "For I know
thoughts that I think toward you, saith LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
I have been serving Lord for over 18 years. I am not just a Sunday church goer; I have a daily relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I remember day Lord called me aside, and said "I want you to work for me. I will be with you and I will use you in great ways." I said, "Lord, why don't you choose someone else, someone with more theological background and experience?" He replied, "I have chosen you and I will be with you." The next morning I awoke at 5:00 AM, and Lord spoke to me and said, "Turn on TV." I did, and there was Gomer , of Gomer Pyle TV show saying, "Don't choose me, choose someone more experienced." They chose him to be on a recruiting poster, and on corner of recruiting picture of Gomer was an eye, Sergeant Carter's eye overlooking him. The Lord spoke to me through this and said, "Just like Sergeant Carter overlooking Gomer, my all seeing eye will be overlooking you."
Since that 1987 experience, Lord has used me in many ways. During this time, I have experienced many crushed hopes and dreams. Often, plans that I thought would work out, didn't. I've experienced hopelessness of poverty, stigma of rejection, burden of being a single parent, pain of loneliness, and more. I've had my share of sickness, and heartbreak of losing loved ones. I've been wounded beside road, bruised, knocked down, shot at, cursed out, and falsely accused. I would have some mountaintop experiences and then things happened that brought me crashing to ground. I've had my seasons with darkness of depression. I've stood silently by and watched others prosper and gain recognition while I floundered in hopeless circumstances. All of these trials caused me to turn to my Lord in prayer, search scriptures, and humbled me down to recognize without Him, I am nothing. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he loves and cares for me.
