Spiritual Living

Living Your Witness: The Quiet Power of Influence

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Do you ever think about those who have especially impacted your life?

For me, while untold numbers of people have helped me grow, three people stand out, people who have left eternal marks on my soul and had a definite impact on the direction my spiritual walk has taken. What strikes me about all three is that they weren’t preaching at me. They were simply living their witness.

Three People Who Changed My Walk

The Best Friend – Joy in the Spirit
Marilyn, my best friend, never tried to “sell” me on anything. She simply shared her excitement about what God was doing in her life. I’d been saved years earlier but wasn’t actively living like a Christian. I was what I call a “cultural Christian” at that point.

Her joy stirred a hunger that made me face my mostly in name only Christianity and recognize its inadequacy, how little it satisfied me. She expected me to get excited too, and I did.

The Stranger – Baptism in the Holy Ghost
At a Christian Student Union meeting Ms. Jeannie, a woman I’d never met, taught me about and led me into the baptism in the Holy Ghost. She was our speaker that night and I could tell she was like my best friend in that she had “it.” In spite of my introversion and insecurity, I’d gathered my courage and asked her, “What is the baptism in the Holy Ghost?”

The conversation we had, and the prayer we prayed, changed my life forever. And I’m happy to be able to report that she became a dear friend and is still a vital influence in my life.

The Evangelist – Intimacy with God
The last of my three, Jesse Duplantis, is an evangelist. His messages are always great, but his almost casual references to his conversations with God made me hunger for that kind of walk:

“I want that type of relationship with You, God!
You’re no respecter of persons.
I want that intimate relationship too!”

So I got in the Word more, prayed more, and focused on listening for His “voice,” God speaking directly to my spirit. Over time, that intimacy became my reality – and I love how we talk to each other all day long.

The 1 Thessalonians 5:17 command to pray without ceasing? This is it. Yes, I have a set time that I know I’ll be praying, talking to God about things that matter to us both, but the conversation doesn’t stop there.

The Quiet Power of Living Faith

Other than Brother Jesse, these are normal people you’ll most likely never meet, but their influences in my life still affect how I live and what I share with others.

And those key people reached me not through preaching at me, but by letting me see the reality of God in their lives, by giving me glimpses of possibilities I’d not imagined.

They also taught me one of the most important things about sharing the Gospel.

We start by living it.

Marilyn, Ms. Jeannie, Brother Jesse…
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”
Philippians 1:3

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Seeing Beyond the Now: Finding Strength in God’s Promise of Eternity

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

When a baby wants to be fed, he wants it NOW.

When a toddler races for a toy, obstacles that delay him frustrate him.

When a child is put in time out, a moment can feel like a month.

But children grow, and so does their concept of time. While “next year” seems impossibly far away, “tomorrow” eventually becomes acceptable, and then “next week,” “next month,” etc.

As adults, we can excitedly anticipate a vacation six months from now while understanding that we have things to do in the meantime. Depending on what those things are, we may walk through the days so busy that suddenly we look up to see that The Day has arrived. On the other hand, when life is in the process of throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us, we may be back to feeling like the clock has slowed and every moment is a month. Either way, we know that a special day is approaching, and the promise of tomorrow’s vacation empowers us to take each day as it comes.

Second Corinthians 4:17-18 reminds us that this life, even if it’s a life filled with trials and heartache, is nothing compared to eternity. First Peter 1:6 assures us that those “momentary trials” are helping us become the people of faith we are called to be. The more we’re in the Word, meditating on verses like these, and the more we are in fellowship with Him, the greater we understand this truth. Like the growing child who develops an increasingly accurate time sense, so do we who are children of God, as we grow spiritually, develop an increasingly accurate eternal time sense. It is this that makes life bearable even during the bad days (weeks, months, years…).

I explained in my Surviving Narcissism series that this one revelation was what made the difference in my ability to stay with and care for my disabled, narcissistic husband. I realized one day that, when compared to the eternity in which I’ll live, my life here isn’t even ten minutes. While thinking about it like that, I decided I can do anything for ten minutes.

And that’s what I told God. It went something like, “I can do anything for ten minutes, so if You want me here with him until the day I die, I can do it. With You helping me, I can.” If you know my story, you are aware that I outlived him, but with a true revelation of eternity I was able to say those words and mean what I said. Bible teacher TeDese Ross expresses it beautifully:

Hope for the future gives us strength for the present.

So, if you’re living in a world where a moment seems like a month, where hope is hard to come by, I advise you to turn to God and ask Him to give you that same revelation, to help you fully grasp the fact that while your problems and trials seem endless, they – and this life – really are “but for a moment.”

One revelation can change everything!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C