Most of my blogs look at how God uses the everyday things of this world to reveal Himself to us. As my tag line puts it, “Finding God in the Ordinary.” I try to encourage others in their faith through my writing. After a discussion at church, I realized that I also need to help others find their faith in God. In this blog, I want to share my journey of faith summarized through my 4 words of life.
My parents raised me in church, and I felt blessed for it. As I grew up, I slipped away from attending church for more fun things in life. My parent’s faith no longer held my attention. Like many young people, I rationalized that I needed rest on Sunday more than I needed God. After the birth of my children, we started attending more often so I could check it off my list of things to do.
4 Words of Life – Seek
God never stopped looking for me during those days. The Bible tells us in Luke 19:10; “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” God never stops searching for the lost to bring them home. We see this truth in Matthew 18:12; “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?” He is seeking you too.
Then one day, the unimaginable happened. Our son died when he was only nine days old. Nothing made sense in my world anymore. I sought answers to why this happened to me. Soon, I realized, only God could help me, and I began to seek Him. At this point, I found my own faith in Christ. I began to walk the path of life with Him and still do to this day. The road is not always easy, but I can’t imagine it without God.
Verses on Seeking
- Matthew 7:7; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
- Jeremiah 29:13; “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
- Psalm 34:4; “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
- Psalm 119:2; ” Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”
4 Words of Life – Forgive
Finding Christ is not enough. We must also ask for His forgiveness and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Many people know of God in their minds. The act of asking Him to forgive our sinful nature moves Him into our hearts. From there, Jesus can lead us and teach us His ways. In 1 John 1:9, we learn, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all.” Developing a real relationship with God requires these two steps, seeking God and asking for forgiveness. Both accomplished through prayer.
Although I accepted Christ as a child, I still felt I needed to turn back to God after my time away. I rededicated my life after I sought His forgiveness. And I always seek God’s mercy daily for those things I do outside of His will. We must also learn to forgive others who wrong us. Part of following Christ means we model His life. He forgives us, so we must forgive others too.
Verses on Forgiveness
- Matthew 6:14-15; “14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
- Luke 17:3-4; “3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
- Acts 3:19; “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
- Hebrews 8:12; “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
4 Words of Life – Grace
I don’t think any of us will ever fully understand the grace of God. Webster’s dictionary defines grace as follows:
“Unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grace
The incredible part of grace is we can’t earn it. God gives it to us freely. He provides us love and encouragement all the days of our lives.
I marvel at this grace God offers me. When I lose my temper with those around me, God’s grace remains. Sometimes I don’t pray or read my Bible, God’s grace stands firm. When I sin, God’s grace offers me forgiveness. Yet, this same grace compels me to become a better follower of Christ, to become more like Christ. Because of grace, I can talk with God through prayer, and He hears me. What a fantastic thing for us.
Verses on Grace
- Ephesians 4:7; “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
- Ephesians 2:8-9; “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
- 2 Peter 1:2; “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
- Hebrews 4:16; “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
4 Words of Life – Love
God provides the previous three words because of His great love for us. In the Bible verse, John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The creator of the universe loves us unconditionally. He knows us more than anyone else on earth, and yet He still loves us. And the best part is He still wants to be in a relationship with Him.
This incredible love became even more real for me when our son died. I can’t imagine sacrificing someone I love to help another person. And, that person might not also appreciate my sacrifice. But God gave us His Son to take on our sins and die for us so we might have life eternal. No matter what I do, evil or good, God will always love me. That thought alone is enough to want to follow Jesus. I want to learn to love like Christ. I can if I accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. He will teach me.
Verses on Love
- 1 John 4:7-8; “7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
- Romans 5:8; “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Galatians 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
- Psalm 86:15; “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
Prayer
Seek, Forgive, Grace, and Love – these 4 words of life lead me to Jesus. He is seeking each of us. Seek Him before it is too late. If you feel led, you can pray this sinner’s prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. Today, I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.
Blessings,
Yvonne M Morgan, #Blogger, #Speaker, #Writer
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
100% of the proceeds from sales of my book, Turning Mountains Into Molehills, go to help the orphans at Orphan Relief Effort, Inc
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What a tough thing to experience, the loss of a child! Thank you for sharing your story with vulnerability. I hope it leads someone to the cross, where we all need to be. Thank you! God bless you.
Thanks Jessica and God bless
Thank you for sharing your heart with us. I am thankful that no matter how far I stray, God always searches for me.
Me too Melissa. God bless
Thank you for sharing your story!
Thanks for visiting and commenting Julie. God bless.
My heart aches for your loss. Yet I rejoice with you that God used that pain to draw you to Him.
Four words that, combined, lead to eternal life!
Amen. Thanks Ava and God bless
Yvonne, these are four powerful words that can change our lives -Seek, Forgive, Grace, and Love – because they lead us to Jesus! So sorry about your loss. Yet, it is interesting how often God uses our suffering to bring us to him. Blessings Yvonne.
Thanks Anne. I appreciate your encouragement. God bless
Dear Yvonne, what a powerful testimony. I remember reading from your book that your precious son died unexpectedly, but my heart aches with you every time I read these words. Thank you for sharing all of this, as we all grow stronger when we hear the stories of how God brought us through. I also love how you used this as an opportunity to point others to Christ. Your heartache then becomes someone’s eternal lifeline. God bless you, dear sister! Love you and your inspiring ministry!
Thanks Melissa. We all have a story for a purpose and that is to expand the kingdom of Christ. I always appreciate your comments dear sister. Love you too. God bless
Your story is so powerful. Thank you for sharing. God bless and continue to work through you.
Thanks Nancy. May the Lord bless you always.
The saints in Revelation overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Yvonne, my heart aches for what you’ve gone through but swells at your heart to share your pain so others may know Him. You’ve found purpose in your pain; thank you for sharing of the God who seeks, forgives, imparts grace, and loves like we’ve never been loved.
Thanks Candice. He gives us our stories so we can share them to bring others to Christ. What a wonderful God we serve. God bless.
This is a superb post, Yvonne! You thoroughly, and yet succinctly, summarize the essentials of salvation, faith, and a walk with the Lord. I’m so sorry for your loss of your tiny son. And yet, it’s clear that God used that painful event in your life for good. You demonstrate here what true faith looks like. Thank you for sharing your four words and your story.
Thank you Melinda. By sharing our stories we can encourage others to seek Him so they too can learn about our awesome God. God bless.
Forgiveness has been my conviction as of late. I have lost the discipline and the heartache to seek God’s forgiveness daily. Your reminder of God’s mercy was very timely!
We all fall short in our discipline but what a wonderful grace stand ready for us each moment. Thanks Emily and God bless.
Thanks Melissa