In celebration of You’re Going to Be Okay, Holley Gerth’s
wonderful new book, her Coffee For Your Heart writing prompt this week is: “No
matter what happens, you’re going to be okay because…”
My response to this prompt came after I
watched the C-SPAN video of the National Prayer Breakfast in
Washington, DC, on February 6, 2014. I was so encouraged to hear our
national leaders praising the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and
sharing their testimonies about the power of prayer in their lives. There were two powerful musical performances, the opening song by Steve Green, “He Holds
The Keys,” and the closing song by Yolanda Adams, “This Too Shall Pass.”
One of the many testimonies and powerful
prayers included professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, known as the "Soul
Surfer," who spoke about her recovery after she lost her arm in a shark
attack and how her physical setback allowed her to realize her true purpose
outside of surfing. "I felt as though I had lost more than just my
arm," she said. "I thought that my hopes and dreams to become a pro-surfer
and adventure the world were stripped away, but the faith I had in Jesus Christ
gave me the strength to comprehend and lean on Him for understanding, even as a
young girl"
During her speech, Bethany read her favorite Scripture:
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”--Ephesians 3:14-21
Following her accident, she recounted
that God was calling her to something greater than the dreams she had for
herself. Now, she serves as a role model and inspiration to young women around
the world through motivational speaking engagements. She closed her testimony
saying, "Because of where Jesus brought me, I have no regrets of the
adversities God has allowed me to go through. As you look at me, you could
think, 'Wow, have pity on her, she lost her arm to a shark.' But I look it as
something beautiful. God has taken something awful and turned it into something
incredibly amazing.”
After watching the entire broadcast, my response to the Coffee For Your Heart prompt is summarized by the opening and closing songs at the National Prayer
Breakfast,
“No matter what happens, you’re going to be okay because…Jesus Holds the Keys and This Too Shall Pass.”The opening song speaks about God’s Sovereignty, proclaiming that nothing comes into our lives that is not filtered through God’s Hands of love, and the closing song reassures us that in our times of trials, God’s grace is sufficient, and He will never leave us or forsake us.
Please feel free to share your comments in the box below after
watching the National Prayer Breakfast video and listening to the opening and
closing songs. I pray it is as much of a
blessing for you as it was for me.
thank you for sharing and reminding us that God calls all of us to something greater when we surrender our lives to Him.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa, for reading my post and taking time to leave such a thoughtful comment...it is a great encouragement :)
ReplyDeleteBeth- I watched Soul Surfer recently- such a powerful story- like Joni Eareckson Tada. I am going to read lots of the posts on "you're going to be ok" as last weeks lot did me the world of good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with Holley to spread this encouragement!
Thank you so much, Mary! Your comments are a blessing!
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