The Lord's faithful hand!

My heart is overflowing with praise to the Lord. He is so faithful and loving, and answers our prayers in ways that are above and beyond our thoughts! 

This past weekend my family and I had the delight of attending Desiring God's National conference with some dear friends. The conference was called Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification. I hope to share some of what I learned from the conference as the weeks go on, but first, I would like to share a small portion of how God's hand worked through this past weekend. 

In May I began praying, planning, and hoping to go to this conference. All of the plans were "up in the air." But the whole time of waiting and being patient before the Lord was good for me. 

As we planned towards going to the conference, we all prayed that the time spent together at the conference would be encouraging to everyone involved (my family, our friends and the older couple we were going to stay with).

Through our Heavenly Father's gracious hand, He worked out all of the little details right up to the conference. What a faith builder that was for me! Learning to carry my anxieties to my Father. Knowing that the Lord is faithful and even though obstacles and anxieties may came up, the Lord works. Oh, we can joyfully rest all of our hope in Christ! As it says in Philippians 4:6-7:

 "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

The hospitality of this couple we stayed with was heartwarming to all of us! We all realized that the Lord was placing us with this older couple to encourage them, especially when we discovered that they were struggling. Many of us were unaware that we were encouraging them, until later on.  

Our friends left very early Monday morning to go back to their home. Later on that morning, once my family and this couple were up and awake, we gathered in the kitchen. I learned more about Mrs. J.'s life.  She said that this whole weekend showed her she has a Heavenly Father who loves her.  She told me that when she heard one of the reasons my dad made more effort to go to this conference was because I have had a desire over the past few years to sit under John Piper's teaching in person. It showed her for one of the first times in her life what it looks like to have a father who cares. 

So tears came to me that morning. I felt so humbled that God would use desires in my heart to attend a conference and pray towards it - even though it all seemed so ridiculously impossible in the process - to enable someone to see the love of our Heavenly Father through my earthly father, and also the loving brother/sister relationship in my friends to touch her heart. 

Mrs. J. said while she whipped up pancakes for breakfast that morning, "This weekend has shown me that my Heavenly Father loves me."

I'm amazed how God can take people who are so far from perfect and use them to show Christ to others! Isn't the Lord so good? :) Each one of us was encouraged and challenged. I am calmed in knowing that as we each seek His face, He who has called us and adopted us as sons and daughters and who justified us at the cross, will complete in us this radiant holiness {sanctify us}, as we act out this miracle!

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

~Ephesians 3:20-21