“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7, KJV)
I had to look for a pair of exercise pants to use for the therapy I am receiving. When I went into the dressing room in the store to try on a pair, I glanced at the large mirror in front of me, and, for the first time, I noticed the curvature of my back close to my neck and below. I was shocked and distraught. I didn’t know what to think! My husband was with me to help me. I looked at him. “Oh my, I had no idea that the top of my back was that curved! How can that be fixed? It’s awful.”
With much compassion, he made light of it. “It was more curved than that before. You are getting better.”
For a moment, it seemed as if I lost a few seconds of thought. I put my hands on the rail by the mirror, held on to it, bowed my head, and prayed, “Lord, I can’t think about this. I will trust You.” All I could sense was a space of time in which God’s presence was all I knew. The Son of God’s glory was inside of me assuring me of His plan in all of this.
Then, I simply kept on going. But I was a little discouraged as we left that place and had to go to the grocery store. I needed my heart strengthened. I prayed, “I don’t want to talk to anyone about You, Jesus. I just need my mind to rest a little as you work in my heart.”
We lined up by the cashier to pay for a couple of items. A very sweet and young girl was the cashier. “Lord, I just can’t start a conversation right now about You. I looked at the young girl. She was very clean-cut and unadorned—not the usual.
No matter how I felt, the King of glory, Jesus, was comforting me. The Spirit of God stirred my heart for this young girl’s soul. My heart rejoiced at the opportunity to tell her about Jesus. I just had to make a little conversation for the sake of her salvation. “Help me Lord.” I prayed. I looked at her name tag. “That’s a very pretty name,” I said.
“Oh, thank you,” she responded.
“How long have you been working here?” I asked.
“One and a half years,” she said.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
She began to talk. “Yes, I do. I am in high school. I will graduate soon. I have no idea what I want to do after that.” She looked around and sighed in frustration. “I just have no idea at all as to what to do!”
“Okay, Lord, help me to know what to say. She too needs Your help,” I prayed.
“Well, you know who can help you with that?” I asked.
“Who?” she desperately inquired.
“God,” I informed her. “But you must know Him first. You must believe in Jesus as His Son, as the Saviour of your soul and Lord. He’s the one to talk to about all that. He is the One who has the plan for your life. Would you like for Him to help you?”
Immediately she answered, “Yes.”
“Okay. Would you like to pray to ask Him?” I noticed that a customer with a cart full of groceries was now beside her. “Oh no, Father, how am I going to finish this? Help me!” But the young girl did not budge. Her focus was on me and our conversation. So, I said, “Let’s pray.”
As she prayed, believing in Jesus, accepting His love for her and His forgiveness for her sins, and asking Him to be the Lord of her life, suddenly small drops of glistening sweat began to form all over her face. As I looked at her eyes, more sweat kept appearing around her cheeks. I don’t know what God was doing in her heart, but He was ever so present.
She stood still for a moment. Nothing seemed to exist. She was not a cashier or a young girl without purpose, but was now the daughter of the Son of God, receiving the glory of God, Jesus, into her life. All was so wondrous!
“Abba, Father, I just cannot believe what the upper part of my back looks like. I don’t have any way out of this but You. Jesus, You are still the healer. I will trust You to fix this and heal my spine. Because I was a little distraught, I could not talk about You, Lord. But this young girl was so sweet and innocent; how could I let her go on without knowing You? You have preserved her for Your glory. Thanks to Your Holy Spirit, my heart was comforted and strengthened, and He helped me to speak of You, Lord. My heart trusted in You. I praise You, living God of heaven and earth! All power has been given to You, Lord Jesus. Nothing is too hard for You! You alone, Jesus, are our help. No matter what we go through, You are about saving souls, and You use us in our weakness to fulfill Your purpose in those who are lost, that they may come to know You and live a life that brings You glory!”