Does The Word Work?

About a month ago I was driving to traffic court and reflecting on the various twists and turns in my life. As I thought about the date I realized that July will be 19 years that I got saved and filled with the Holy Spirit at TD Jakes’ Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference. It will also be 19 years that I walked into Calvary Revival Church hungry for a place that I could be fed the word of God. Nineteen years, almost twenty years of getting the best word, the best messages, the best teaching, and the best experiences with God. But when I look at the twists and turns, I wonder what happened to me. Some things happened to me because of a lack of obedience, and other things came to test my faith. In both cases I had the word, so the question I have is this. Is God’s word working in my life? Dear Reader, this got me thinking so deeply that I walked away from this blog and came back to it weeks later. Not because my own faith was being tested, but my best friend’s faith. My best friend has been struggling with multiple health issues for years. Today as I thought about a surgery she needs to have, I cried out to God and asked Him why her and why now. I don’t have any answers. Just questions. I went back to Genesis and asked God if we are created in His image, why does my best friend have these problems and why does she need surgery? Isn’t Jesus the Master Physician, and doesn’t the Old Testament call God Jehovah Rapha, our Healer? As I asked these questions, I felt like I was being disrespectful to God. Hadn’t I just spent the day before with a congregation of faith-filled towers in the faith, yet here I was questioning the suffering of man? Yes, I’m questioning, and even as I questioned I thought about if I should write about it or not. Since you are reading this the answer is yes. It was actually an Easter message that gave me the courage to write what I’m feeling. I watched a production of the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers and how only one came back to thank Him. That healed leper would later be a testament to the healing power of Jesus and bring glory to God. As much as I desire for people to be filled with faith, they are not always. Many churches were filled on Easter Sunday, but will they be filled on the Sundays yet to come? What will draw people to God? Well I heard a message that said that problems drive us to pray more, so could suffering draw us closer to the One Who can heal our broken hearts, bodies, and minds? Tough pill to swallow, but the Bible does tell us that in this life we will face suffering. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings…” Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” So to my dear best friend, although my heart is breaking for you, through these tears I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a testimony at the end. Be encouraged and trust that God is sovereign in all of this.