deliciously free

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him & the power to do what pleases Him.

Sometimes, I write the date I read something in the Bible. Sometimes I know why I date them, sometimes I don't.

This morning, I was reading in Philippians 2, when I got to verse 13. I'd dated that verse on 1/24/03. I googled what day of the week it was - Friday.

Friday, January 24, 2003 was the day God released me from a prison I'd lived in for 52 1/2 years. I finally shared with someone the primary issue of my life - the BIG one - something I'd never done before.

God had been talking to me for over a month, poking me & prodding me to tell Andy King. I knew my life would come to an end if I did. I knew I'd lose my job, my friends, my reputation, & my relationships, & I'd be an outcast for the rest of my life. At least, that's what the devil had been telling me for over 52 years.

That morning God threw me a lifeline & let me know that He'd be with me in the telling & that He's give me the power to do it.

And, ya know, He did - I did tell Andy that day, in the late afternoon, in Andy's office at the Edna Place church. I didn't know that morning that on that very day I'd be telling Andy the thing I thought defined my life, that I'd never told anyone before.

Incidentally, it didn't & doesn't define my life - God's love defines my life.

Btw, all the things the devil told me would happen, the things the devil had used to keep me locked up & locked away - didn't (& haven't) happened.

And I've been deliciously free ever since.

Little did I know that very morning when I read that verse how my life would change so much in just a few hours. God did give me the power to do what pleased Him.

The hilarious thing about my life now is that I can't remember who all I've told - hundreds & hundreds of you.

What a miracle & scandal His grace is!