God’s Good Purpose

I was in a hurry.

It was Sunday.  We had made arrangements to attend a woman’s basketball game after church and my husband was waiting for me to get home from church so we could leave.  As an assistant to the church’s Deacon Ministry, I was to process a request for financial assistance for one of our church members prior to leaving the church that morning; but in my rush to get home I forgot about the form.

I left church and planned a quick stop for milk at the convenience store.  Upon entering the store, I saw one of our deacons and remembered I’d neglected to process the request for financial assistance.  I grabbed the milk and headed for the car.  At once, I was faced with a decision.  Should I return to the church and begin to process the form or should I just go straight home?

I considered my options and became increasingly uncomfortable about not processing the paperwork so I made my way back to the church.  As I entered the office a deacon came up to me saying, “I need your help.  Can you help me right now?”  When I replied that I was in a hurry, he said, “I really need your help.”

We made our way to his office and there found a woman seated, sobbing.  She was clearly distraught and my immediate response was to kneel down and embrace her.  I attempted to comfort her with a human touch and held her while the deacon explained her situation.  Her needs were great and she had come to a place of desperation and in need of intervention.  After discussing her issues, a plan was put in placed whereby others within our church might begin to help this family with their needs.

After I left church that morning I was emotionally drained, but knowing I had brought her comfort was uplifting to me.  I maintained regular communication with her and over time observed God’s hand on her life in many ways.  The body of Christ came together to bring much needed resources and her husband began attending one of our church programs.  Through it all, God began to stabilize the family.  That one moment in time turned her life and mine around completely.

I can’t fully describe God’s hand in all of this.      

God used this divinely-appointed encounter to teach me so many things.  I had been questioning my involvement in the Deacon Ministry, wondering if I should continue my participation, when this incident reinforced God’s plan for me there.   Over the weeks of watching this family’s life play out before me, I came to see the value of our church’s Deacon Ministry and embraced my role in it.

This experience also confirmed what I had been learning through Love God Greatly.  One theme that continually surfaced through the Bible studies was my need to heed God’s call on my life.  I had been learning that it’s not always about what I think I want in life that is important.  Often the Bible study lessons reminded me to seek God’s will and, on more than one occasion, Angela and Joy highlighted Scriptures that addressed this issue.  I was especially touched when Joy openly talked about the difficulties associated with living in Uganda and how God’s will keeps her faithfully serving there.  Then God gave me my own object lesson that fateful Sunday morning.

He used one hurting woman to change my perspective.   

God used that woman very mightily in my life and I doubt she will ever know the degree to which she was used.   In my efforts to be a blessing to her I find that I am the one who was blessed.  I observe her in church and watch her passing along her healing to other women.  She has taken the gift that God gave her and is now sharing it with others.  As I think about it, I believe she and I have learned powerful lessons about heeding God’s call and allowing God to use us to fulfill His good purposes.

I am learning so much about heeding the voice of God and seeking His will for my life.  The current study in Ecclesiastes continues to remind me of the vanity of living life on my own terms; I need to listen to what Jesus teaches and to follow it.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

Robbi Imhoff, Williamston, MI

Interview conducted and post written by Joan, LGG Leadership Team Member

Did you miss last Saturday’s Women of LGG story? Read it here!

joan