DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
Guest post by: Kristen Hogrefe Parnell @Kristen Hogrefe Parnell
One of my favorite Bible verses as a teenager that remains close to my heart as a thirty-something is Luke 1:37. “For with God nothing will be impossible” (NKJV).
Read through the stories of the Old and New Testament, and you can’t help but see impossible situations become possible. For starters, consider this short list of women in the Bible.
- A ninety-year-old woman conceives and gives birth to a baby (Sarah).
- A Gentile prostitute helps Jewish spies, eventually marries a Jewish man, and becomes part of the lineage of Jesus (Rahab).
- A young Jewish woman is chosen as the next Persian queen and saves her people from being slaughtered (Esther).
- A teenage virgin bears the Savior of the world (Mary).
These women all found themselves in impossible situations with solutions made possible only by God’s miraculous intervention.
Sure, you say, those stories are well and good, but God isn’t working miracles today. In some respects, you would be right, but in others, you would be seriously wrong.
Consider, for starters, the enduring truth of John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV). Everlasting life made available to any eternally condemned sinner who believes in God? There’s a miracle for sure!
People continue to come to Him today, because the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The miracle is that God is still drawing us to Himself, even when we feel weighed down by our mistakes and scarred from our past—much like my character Jayna in Hold Your Breath.
Jayna has searched for love in all the wrong places, and her last misplaced romance proves more dangerous than she could have imagined. Despite her poor choices and wounded past, God pursues Jayna, using an unlikely church group and a big-hearted private investigator named Liam Bracken to redeem her story.
Yes, her story is fiction, but God’s never-ending, pursuing love for us is not. He is still in the business of changing lives and turning impossible situations into something good.
Sometimes the blessings we take for granted today are because of how God moved in our past. How have you seen God work in your life?
Kristen
Kristen Hogrefe Parnell writes suspenseful fiction from a faith perspective for women and young adults. Her own suspense story involved waiting on God into her thirties to meet her husband, and she desires to keep embracing God’s plan for her life when it’s not what she expects. Kristen’s books have won the Selah Award and the Grace Award, among others. An educator at heart, she also teaches English online and enjoys being a podcast guest. Kristen lives in the Tampa, Florida area with her husband and young son. Visit her online at KristenHogrefeParnell.com.
Thank you, Kristen!
Comments 23
The Lord used our dog to wake me up to save me from a fire that started in an empty unit next door to us. The fire chief said if the dog had not woke me up, I would not have made it out alive.
I’m so glad God used your dog to save your life! Thank you for sharing your story. Wishing you a blessed Christmas!
Debra, that is an incredible testimony to God’s miraculous provision. Thank you so much for sharing this story!
Special posts. Thanks.
You’re so welcome, Leona. Blessings to you!
Leona, thank you for taking the time to respond! Merry Christmas
I’m so glad God doesn’t stop pursuing us with His amazing love. You are an awesome author, and I can’t wait to read this story. Take My Hand was my introduction to your books.
Nicole, I agree with you! God pursues us with His unconditional love. Take My Hand was an incredible story.
Nicole, you are such an encourager! Thank you for your kind comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed Take My Hand, and hope you enjoy Hold Your Breath as well. Blessings to you!
God has been with me through miscarriage, divorce, the loss of my parents, and so much more. I can’t begin to imagine my life without the promises of my Saviour. Merry Christmas!
Susan, somehow my comment was placed farther down. From the manager to the empty tomb, He makes our home within our hearts.
Susan, thank you for sharing. Those are some hard seasons. What a blessing you have seen God’s faithfulness through them all. Merry Christmas to you as well!
“Sometimes the blessings we take for granted today are because of how God moved in our past.” That is so true and we do have a tendency to forget what our Lord has done for us in the past. Writing these down in journals helps us remember how the God of the impossible has made so many possibilities. Thanks DiAnn and Kristen!
You’re so welcome, Barbara. I love that you mentioned journaling, which I something I try to do. It helps me look back and see how God has been faithful and reminds me that He will remain faithful, no matter what. Blessings to you!
Barbara, that is our God! From the manager to the empty tomb, He makes our home within our hearts.
Barbara, I believe journaling is thebest roadmap for what God is doing in our lives.
Thanks for the encouragement and the nudge to read your book.
You’re so welcome, Adriana. I hope you enjoy the story. Christmas blessings to you!
Adriana, Kristen is an amazing writer!
My family is living an “impossible thing” this year. My baby was born in May with a genetic condition. Her genetic tests showed a rare chromosomal duplication so big that we expected a lifetime with her feeding tube, no mobility, major surgeries, and no ability to recognize her family. But one day at three weeks old, she yanked out her (nasal) feeding tube and decided she wanted to eat orally. From there she began to improve in every way. Now she is six months old, eating from a spoon, close to crawling, and has HUGE smiles for the people she knows and loves! The only surgery she needs is ear tubes to drain fluid. Our geneticist can’t tell us why she doesn’t fit her genetic profile, but apparently some people just don’t. God is also doing a miracle in my heart as he has helped me through my grief over her challenges and several medical issues we are still facing. I know that even if we had to handle everything we feared, we would still have the strength to find joy in our challenges.
Breana, Praise God for the miracle in your life. I’m praying you and your family continue to sense God’s healing in every way.
Wow, Breana, thank you for sharing your story which so powerfully illustrates how God still works miracles – both the healing in your daughter and the healing in your heart. Wishing you so much joy this Christmas!!
Breana,
This is truly God’s miracle. I am touched by your story, your faith, and have you now in my prayer journal for the months ahead. May God give you peace.