The Promise. A story of Faith, Love, and Forgiveness.

Chapter 9: But God?

Chapter Nine

But God?

Many times, people don't realize why God tells us to do certain things, but then tells us not to do other things. It's not that He wishes to control us. He created us with a free will, to make our own decisions. However, He knows where our bad choices will lead us. That is the reason He tries to guide us down the path of righteousness, making godly decisions based on His word. It's not so we won't have any fun in this life, but so that we won't have to suffer the consequences of our sins. Sometimes, like in my case, not only did I suffer the results of my sins, but an innocent child, my son, also had to suffer because of my sinful choices. This is something I will have to live with the rest of my life. I am aware that I deserve to burn in the flames of hell for all eternity. But thanks to what Jesus did on the cross two thousand years ago, my sin has already been paid for. Even though I committed the sin, Jesus paid the penalty. By the grace of God, I am forgiven and treated as though I have never sinned. While my son and I carry the scars, we can be certain that we have new life through a relationship with God's son, Jesus.

I can look back on my life now and see how starting this business was a part of God's plan for my life. During the eighteen months after signing the contract and starting the business, my debt had accumulated into the six-figure range. This debt included the initial start-up costs for the business, everyday living expenses, and so much more. I felt like I was drowning. There was no way I could get out of the financial hole I was in.

I was considering either the sale of the business, or bankruptcy. I thought that these were my only options, the only

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way to climb out from underneath the back-breaking financial load I was carrying. I felt like I was facing my own financial Armageddon.

I found a buyer for my business in the summer of 2004. However, it was in December 2004, that I received a letter from the buyer, stating that he had changed his mind and decided not to move forward with the purchase. He said he felt as though it wasn't a good time for him to expand his business at the time. After reading it, I was heart-broken. I was looking forward to being able to get out of debt. Looking back, I can easily see how it was the hand of God that stopped me from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

From 2003 until 2005, I didn't earn a single penny in profits from all of my labor, and all of my sacrifices. After all of these years of hard work and dedication, in 2006, God's blessings began to pour into my life. I earned $150,000 that year. God knew what He was doing. He had everything under control. His timing was perfect. It was later in 2006 that my dad had fallen ill, and became disabled, and wasn't able to work anymore. My dad's need came as no surprise to God. His plan to provide was in place long before my dad's disability ever happened. It was by God's grace, that I was able to begin taking care of my disabled parents when I was twenty-nine years old.

Just a few years later, by the time I was in my early thirties, I paid off my house. Before the age of forty I wrote out a hefty check to buy an RV and travel the country. How amazing God is!

If we trust God and allow Him to be in control, what blessings will come! He will cause you to make wise choices and bring you to places you would never have gone on your own. I am so thankful to God for the many miracles He has given me.

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If I had chosen to push away God's guidance, you would not be reading about God's promises fulfilled. I lived all these years with hope, hope that made no sense. This hope defied reality. It also caused me to develop my faith, when in the natural I should have given up. I could have buried my problems in a bottle of alcohol or chosen to drug my way through the pain, but by the grace of God, I didn't.

I prayed and asked God for forgiveness and He gave it to me. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had been proud and refused God's guidance. I have a great life now. It didn't change instantly, but it did change. The Word says, all His paths are paths of peace. That means that as you seek God and ask Him to guide you, even if there is hell breaking loose all around you, you can still have peace in the midst of it, and eventually you will be living the life you desired. He grants His loved ones their heart's desire when they stay firmly planted in His kingdom.