Erin, Full of Faith

Last night I had the privilege of hearing my friend Erin Jones bring an amazing message at my church (C3 Church, Clayton, NC). That message was powerful!  It was an on-time message.  It was a message just for me.  But it was so much more than that...can I share with you what God showed me last night?

You see, God didn't let me "just" hear an amazing message and be an encourager to my friend who was speaking for the first time in "big church"....no...here is what He showed me.

As I watched this amazing woman speak last night, I was overcome with emotion as I realized I was watching a beautiful truth unfold before my very eyes - God IS an Ephesians 3:20 God.  That scripture says:  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

You see, I've watched Erin walk through some incredibly difficult times.  Times that it would have been easy to toss in the towel.  Walk in another direction. Give up.  Quit.  Turn away.  

But Erin is a woman "full of faith".....His power was (and is) at work IN her....and she persevered.  She pushed through.  She continued to put one foot in front of the other, even when it hurt move.  She doubted, but never gave up.  She got angry, but didn't get bitter.  She cried out to the One she couldn't see, about a struggle that she saw clearly everyday in the mirror.  But most of all, she embodied 2 Corinthians 5:7 - "For we live by believing and not by seeing."  She didn't surrender her dreams to the circumstances she could see, she surrendered to the Cross.  She didn't give in to the accuser, she relinquished to the Advocate.  She continued to worship the One who is mighty to save. 

And last night, as this amazing woman stepped up to speak the message that God had laid on her heart, I saw with my very own eyes that God honored her obedience and faithfulness...He did more than she could ever ask or imagine.

Psalm 37:4 tells us that if we delight in the Lord, He WILL give us the desires of our heart...I am so thankful that God has allowed me to walk a while with Erin on her journey and to be able to be witness of Him giving her one of the desires of her heart.

Erin, I am so very proud of the woman God has created you to be and grateful that I can call you my friend! Love you!! The best is yet to come!!