Strength

Strength

Week 2

2 Timothy 4:17

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.

Wow!! What an interesting week.

This week has changed my life a fair bit. I am so thankful for his words. This week started off fairly dim. Our aim was to enrol my son into his new school and continue to search for a job.

Monday we went into the school and found it locked and closed, figured never mind we’ll come back tomorrow. Once again, it was closed with even the whole street blocked off for road works, so we stopped the car a block over and walked, only to find it locked again.

This was very frustrating for my wife and I, but at this stage I felt a calm come over me and I turned to my wife and said, “Maybe God is asking us to wait, I believe that we should pray and wait upon the Lord for his answer.

The job search has so far been frustrating as well, with no promising opportunities arising at all, despite applying for absolutely everything. But I know it’s in God’s hands, he will provide, and while I am still searching very hard, God has brought me a sense of peace about it all. I know not to stress. God didn’t send us up here to enrol in Bible College and then laugh at us when we have no money to afford it. He is our provider!

This week we also had one of the best family outings with the kids, spending a hot day at the shops and going to see a movie, Wreck it Ralph. To me this was one of the best days I have had in a long time.

The following day wasn’t nearly as nice, as our washing machine blew up and flooded our entire garage. Satan is still trying little shots at us but he got nothing on us now! God is just giving me such a sense of peace that instead of stressing about it and the money it would cost to buy a new one, I stood back and thought nothing of it as I knew God would provide for us. We are in great hands and doing what he wants of us. He is not going to sit back and watch us fall while doing his will.

We went looking for washing machines on Thursday, hoping to find a great price, sadly most were out of our price range. I remember trying to rush into just buying any washing machine, but God and I had different plans. Once again I brought it to God instead of listening to myself and was told to wait off and ask my best mate, Chris.

Funny enough, Chris called me that arvo and asked me if I could help out with some cleaning at the church, so I was able to ask him and he told me of a wholesale place, and I ended up saving a ton on a new washing machine.

So this is now bringing me to the highlight of my week - cleaning my new church. I know what you’re thinking, Aaron have you gone mad?? Did you just say that the highlight of your week was cleaning a church?

While this might sound funny, the experience I had while at the church has lifted my spirit 100% and will help me throughout this year.

Where do I start…

So there I was, vacuuming away and chilling to War of Ages blasting out of my headphones, when I was tapped on the shoulder by a guy that I had met probably once before briefly over a year ago.

He told me of a vision he was just given while walking past me in the church, and he believed that God had told him he needed to share it with me.

He explained of branches growing from my arms and roots bellowing deep into the ground. He gave me the word ‘Strength’, saying that he believed that I would be a great provider of Strength not only to my family, but to many other people.

At this stage I was filled with the Holy Spirit and I could feel God’s presence, it was amazing. This young man then asked if he could pray with me, laying on hands.

Now this is where it becomes a huge blessing.

He prayed a prayer that God would use me and help me and that I would be filled by the Holy Spirit more than ever before. Now here’s the “WOW” part. He then started talking of my 2 children, that they will be strengthened by my love for God, and that the dreams that I had a few years ago, God would for fill. (My first thought is how did this guy know I even had children, and of the dreams God had sent to me years earlier??) I then backhanded myself and realized “THIS WAS GOD, THE CREATER, OUR SAVER”, talking through him. I was more than happy, I was filled with joy and still am.

I pray that God will use me this year, that I may be a testament to God’s love and provision and show others that God is MY strength and provider.