Trust in God
Author: Anonymous
This is a true story about a friend of mine who after going through a very tough time in his life, he still trusted in God to carry him through.
I will call my friend Bill, as he wants God to get all the glory for the story I am about to tell.
Bill was a Boilermaker working on the deep Gold mines of
Bill’s work entailed heavy steelwork maintenance and he also worked with dangerous chemicals such as pure caustic soda and cyanide which was used in the process of extracting the gold out of the ore. Most of the other artisans were afraid to work with these chemicals but Bill felt he was well trained in the safety precautions when handling them, as long as he was very cautious he felt ok.
Bill prided himself in the fact that he could do any job better and faster than any other artisan, and no job was too big or too small, he would tackle any job or challenge with enthusiasm. He not only had to be the best artisan, but he also had to do the best in all fields of his work. At the end of the day he would return home to his family totally exhausted from his work.
At this time in his life he was not a Christian but his wife was totally committed to Christ, and Bill would occasionally go with her to church out of duty to his children and his wife. While sitting in Church he would count the minutes until the service was over, as he didn’t really feel God as his wife said she could.
Bill and his wife slowly started to grow apart and the more his wife got involved with the church the more involved Bill became with his work. So much so that Bill’s work became first in his life and everything else became second, including his family.
At a point the gold price on the world markets fell to an all time low and the mines started to re-trench employees and close certain sections of the mines, as they could not afford to keep them running.
Bill decided to go for an interview for a job at a cement factory about 150 kilometers from the gold mine he was working on to see if he could get better job security. He got the job and accepted it without hesitation, without even considering his wife’s feelings about moving. Bill’s wife had been borne and raised in the same town and her whole life, friends, church and family were in the same town.
To cut a long story short they moved and Bill started the process of being the best all over again at his new work.
Bill was so involved in his new work that he didn’t even notice the depression his wife went into. He was more concerned with what was happening in his own life at that point. At least he was providing for his family the best he knew how, well so he thought.
All through this time his wife never stopped praying for Bill to become a Christian and she had the faith in our God that it would someday come to pass. Bill and his wife attended the local church; Bill only went because his wife was afraid to go to the church because she never knew anyone and she felt insecure on her own. After a few months Bill started skipping church and eventually stopped going altogether. His wife at the same time fell deeper and deeper into depression.
She started going to see the pastor for counseling and they started a relationship as friends, he became a comfort to her and she could talk to him about the Lord, which she couldn’t with her husband.
One day at work Bill got a letter. It was strange to get a letter at work because he had a post box and all his mail was sent there. He opened the letter and it read as follows:
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR WIFE’S AFFAIR?
That was the day Bill’s life fell apart. Bill had grown up in a divorced home and the first thing that came into his mind was that history repeats itself. All that day at work Bill was wrestling with the contents of the letter, he didn’t know for a fact if the letter was a prank or not. He was totally unable to work or to communicate with anyone. Bill went to his boss and asked for a few days leave because he had serious family problems to attend to.
As he got home his wife immediately knew something was wrong, as she had never seen Bill with that expression on his face before. Bill told the children to get their swimming costumes and go swim at the recreation club swimming pool for the afternoon.
Bill showed his wife the letter and demanded an explanation. I must also say that Bill was desperately trying to hold onto his sanity at this point. Bill had immigrated to
What I am about to write is the facts as they were and I am writing them as they were without trying to put the blame on anyone or to give anyone any credit either.
Obviously Bill was devastated; he didn’t even see this coming. A complete curve ball. After much discussion and with Bill fighting to understand what was going on and what he should do next he went outside in the dark and a feeling came over him, one he had never felt in his life before. He later realized it was the Holy Spirit which had come over him. In a state of total broken-ness the Lord had come to him. He spent the next few hours on a roller coaster of emotions, from deep depression to an intense joy. Bill thought this to be extreme, and he didn’t understand it at all. Bill gave his life to the Lord that night and pleaded with the Lord to forgive and to help him. He also asked his wife for forgiveness and at the same time forgave her.
The following morning (neither Bill nor his wife had slept) Bill realized that he had not been the ideal husband and admitted his failure to his wife. Although he was deeply hurt he realized that he still loved his wife and he didn’t want to be separated from his children. Bill phoned the Pastor and told him to come to his house.
The Pastor arrived and Bill sat everyone down. He asked his wife to make a decision to stay with him or to go with the Pastor. Bill’s wife decided to stay with him. The Pastor then said that his life and his ministry was over and he would have no alternative but to kill himself. Bill immediately told the Pastor that as an adult he was responsible for his own actions and what ever he did was his own responsibility, he then told the Pastor to leave and that he was no longer welcome in Bill’s house.
Needless to say the Pastor was transferred to another church and Bill’s wife stood up in front of the whole congregation and confessed, regardless of the consequences and asked for forgiveness. This act was a risk that she took, she could have been totally rejected from the congregation but they could see her true remorse and how sorry she was for allowing the affair to have happened. This was a true step of courage and faith, some people would rather move to another church then face judgment from others. Yes there were some people who condemned her even to this day, but Bill’s wife knows that she did the correct thing before God and the Church. She spent many months learning how to cope with the stigma some people placed over her, but our God and Bill were always there for support.
Bill was asked one day as to why he didn’t do anything to stop the Pastor from preaching and to get him out of the church altogether. Bill replied with the following:
At the time of my need before God I asked him to forgive me for all that I had done in my life. How could I expect God to forgive me and then not forgive Pastor? The other reason is if God can still use Pastor to save just one more soul for him, isn’t that more important than my own life or the guilt and shame that I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life. Judgment is not for me but for God. Pastor will have to ask God for forgiveness for what he has done, if God does forgive him then it must be so. Although the pain from going through such an ordeal does not just go away, I have learned how to truly forgive. I have forgiven myself, my wife and Pastor. To forgive someone is indeed a difficult thing for anyone to do, but remember this one thing, if you cannot forgive someone for what they have done to you, how then can God forgive you for your sins? And we are all sinful.
Bill and his wife are living quite extraordinary lives now; they are involved in the church, Sunday school, Emmaus movement and the Kairos prison ministry for maximum-security prisoners. Bill got a new job in the same cement factory, which has much better working conditions and a higher salary. Bill and his wife sometimes talk for a long time about the Lord or his word and their children seem to glow with happiness. Yes there is still pain and at times problems do arise, but Bill and his wife have an advantage. God is in their hearts and he will always provide. Bill’s wife actually prayed for Bill to be truly saved for a ten-year period of true faith that the Lord will save him. It took something drastic for Bill to turn to the Lord. If you were to ask Bill today what makes all this possible, he will reply – TRUST IN GOD.
The reason I am sharing this story of Bill and his wife is because situations like this are often not brought out into the open within our churches.
If you have been in a similar situation and can relate to this story, I pray that this story will give you inspiration to seek God’s word, and to do what he commands us to do, acknowledge your weaknesses as a person and ask God to strengthen you on your journey of life, and remember, when things get tough, TRUST IN GOD.
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” - Mark 11:25-26
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” - James 5:16
Source : Sherry’s Inspirational - http://groups.google.com/group/Sherrys_Inspirational
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