The Story of God’s Grace and Divine Interventions
This story has been on my mind for quite some time. The gratitude and humility that comes along with this story are eternal. The details may be a bit vague because they are not all my own.
Last week, I shared the story of Rufus of Cyrene with you. Rufus was the son of Simon of Cyrene, whom you may recognize as the bearer of Christ’s cross in his final stages to Golgotha. I loved how this moment in time probably had an effect on Simon and in turn on his sons.
How has God been intertwined into your story? How has He made provision to get to His chosen child?
In Rufus’s story, we see that He was chosen. Any child of Christ is chosen but the use of this word in the story of Rufus means hand-picked with intention. Pretty Awesome!
I love this version in the Aramaic Bible in Plain English of Ephesians 1:4 Just as he chose us beforehand in him from before the foundation of the universe, that we shall be holy and without spot before him, and he ordained us beforehand in love for himself.
Not only chosen to be holy and spotless before a perfect God, but He chose us before the foundation of the universe. Does that not make your heart skip a beat?
My paternal grandfather was stationed in Australia during World War II. During his time there he met my grandmother and they later married. She remained there until she and their firstborn daughter were able to come to live in the states. My grandpa was one of two men that made it back to the states from his troop in Wisconsin.
My maternal grandfather left for WWII a married man. As many men of that time, they married before they left to have someone to write home to. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor but due to the command of his officer, his aircraft carrier, left two days prior to the attacks to practice in the open water. His ship, however, did not escape the war and was sunk. After abandoning the ship and spending time waiting for a rescue they were left in open water for hours.
Surviving the war, my grandpa returned to an empty home and no marriage and in time met my grandmother, who survived the depression in part by eating cabbage they had picked up from the railroad tracks.
From those two families came my mother and my father. My mother and father were young when they were married and so they moved into the upstairs apartment of my maternal grandparents.
Neither of my maternal grandparents were saved when they began their relationship but over the years, they had people who influenced their lives and invited them to church. My grandma was saved first and my grandpa always joked that my grandma nagged him into heaven.
Two of the most faithful people that I have ever known. I grew up in the upstairs apartment and had the privilege of being with them daily for all my childhood and teen years.
My mother was also saved when she was a small child and took us to church weekly for all of our lives and loved us unconditionally.
My story may not seem that exciting to many people but knowing it is my story, knowing what God does to get to His chosen, sends my heart over the moon.
Realizing the hard times my grandma faced throughout her life. I look back at the fact that my other grandma was found on the other side of the world. My two grandfathers miraculously survived WWII.
Reading the story of Rufus I am so fascinated. I see he was chosen by God before the foundations of the world. What did God do to influence his life? Did He use his father, Simon, to bear His cross and teach his sons what those words truly meant?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are also chosen.
I can look at just my brief history and ask, “How has God intervened to get me where I am today?” He saved the lives of my grandparents. He made their paths cross. He allowed me to grow up in their faithful influence, and He has allowed me to minister to the hearts of many children and now adults all over the world through the internet.
I don’t always know the exact path God has chosen for me, but He does. He planned it before I was a thought in this world and He made it possible for me to do what I do today. To live out what I believe He has purposed and equipped me to do.
Just like Rufus, I have had faithful influences in my life that have helped lead me to my decision to also be a follower of Christ.
Has God hand-picked me with intent like Rufus? I don’t know. Maybe He handpicked one of my children or great grandchildren and he is going to use generations of faithful people to get to them.
One day, at the day of my completion, when I meet Him face-to-face, all I can hope for is He will be able to say well done good and faithful servant.
How have you seen God influence your life or the generations leading up to your life to get you where you are today? How are you influencing the lives of those around you to further the kingdom for God’s Glory?
No matter where you are or what your are doing, God has a purpose for your life. I hope you will take some time to reflect on His intervention and maybe even write your own Rufus story.
No matter where you are or what your are doing, God has a purpose for your life. I hope you will take some time to reflect on His intervention and maybe even write your own Rufus story.
While you’re here, sit down with some of my friends. They are amazing writers with so many great stories to share with you. Just clink on a link below and you will go directly to their site where you can get to know them more.
Please, linkup (up to 3) of your family-friendly inspiring stories, recipes, DIY, homeschool, giveaways, or share your life’s greatest passions.
Friends are here to encourage and challenge us in our walk of life, so enjoy!
Thank you for posting and linking up. I try to read and comment on as many of these wonderful posts as I can and as time allows. I just want to say you are all doing wonderful work and praise the Lord that I have had the opportunity to come across the path of so many of you.
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I love your history of God's saving grace in your family. God did not use my family to draw me, none of them knew Him nor wanted to, but God did use other people and His Spirit to draw me. Thankfully! Eternally grateful to Jesus' work in my life. I will not stay silent!
It is so much more than this, but you know we have to wrap it up in a quick post. God is so amazing and so gracious. I know His hands on my life are nothing short of a miracle. Thank you so much for visiting, Tammy.
'knowing it is my story, knowing what God does to get to His chosen, sends my heart over the moon.' I love that, Jaime! Thanks so much for sharing. I always imagine the beautiful tapestry God is painting with our lives that we would only be able to fully appreciate on the 'day of [our] completion'. But just knowing now how He is carefully weaving all the pieces of our lives together… even through our ancestors – gives us great reason to rejoice in thanksgiving. Have a blessed day, my friend.
What a great picture, Carlie. As we pull away from being so close to our lives we too see the big picture. Like a 3d image.I think God allows us some of these delights now so we can be in awe of our Great Creator. Thanks for stopping. Have a great week.
I love stories that span decades and continents. Yours certainly demonstrates the power of God and His influence over every detail of our identity!
Love this, Michelle. You are so right. He determines our identity because it is in Him. Thank you so much for stopping today!
Hi Jamie!
Thanks for hosting. Have a blessed holy week and a wonderful Good Friday and Resurrection Day!
Blessings,
Tiffiney
Thank you so much, Tiffiney. I am glad that you were here today! I hope to see you again!
Thank you for hosting! Have a wonderful Easter holiday!
Thank you, Debbie. I hope your holiday was wonderful, also.
What a sweet family history, Jaime. Thank you for sharing that. Hope your family has a great Easter. ((blessings))
Thank you, Brenda. I am glad that you have stopped by. I hope that you had a great Easter.
I LOVE YOUR RUFUS STORY! #43 in the linkup, is this a weekly linkup?
Thank you so much for the encouragement, Susan. I am glad to be connecting with you this week. Yes, this is weekly Linkup and opens Wednesday mornings and I hope we see you again next week.
Hey Jaime, just wanted to let you know that I shared your story with my kids during our morning time discussion. It was a beautiful illustration that reminds us to appreciate God's pursuing love for us. I took a few minutes to highlight some reasons for thanksgiving in our own family tree. Thanks again for influencing others for God's glory.
Carlie, that is a sweet and wonderful compliment. I hope they were able to see that God is in pursuit of our hearts and sometimes He will go to extremes to get us. It is the depth of His love we can see played out in our own stories. Glad you were here today!
That is a great family story.
Sometimes I wonder about my family tree as I was adopted and put in a family that had way too many issues but then I look at the things I have done in my life without any kind of family and it does confirm that there is a God.
Patrick, God is in pursuit of our hearts. A common verse we sometimes skim past because we see it so often is John 3:16. It says, For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. It is not God's desire that anyone perish or die without knowing and believing in His name. If fact, His love was so great for all of humanity that He sent His only Son to be restore that relationship so we can know Him and live with Him in eternity. This life is just a moment in time and making the decision to know Christ has eternal impact. Glad you are here today, friend! If you want to have a conversation about this, please get my email from the bottom of the page and we can discuss this more.
God is so good, my friend. Thank you for sharing this story about you and your family. Hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for hosting 🙂
Thanks for sharing with #SocialButterflySunday, Jaime! It is always a blessing to see you link up! Hope you have an amazing week 🙂
Thank you for coming over today, friend. You are so right. God is so good. What a relief that is to us who need Him so desperately. Thanks for inviting us to your space to be a social butterflies.
I think your story is quite exciting! It's interesting, isn't it, to look back and see how God has weaved a tapestry in our lives! My family history contains a long string of believers on both sides of my family. My two grandpas actually knew each other as young boys. They stayed in touch, and movies of my paternal grandparents' wedding actually shows my other set of grandparents as guests! I have even seen a precious photo of my dad, three years old, holding my mom, six months old! My mother grew up in a small town full of relatives, on both sides of the family. One day my father's aunt said something to my mom's parents about getting the two of them together. The rest is history…including me!
I loved your story for so many reasons, Jaime. But most of all I love how you used your family history to point out how God knows all about us, and planned every day of our lives before the creation of the universe. That is mind-boggling to me!
So let's go out there and fulfill His purposes for us!!
GOD BLESS!
You have such great stories Sharon and such great insight. I am always happy to read you work and hear what you have to say. Thank you so much for stopping by and encouraging us here in the comments. Have a wonderful week.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story, Jaime. God is an awesome God. He has all the intricate details worked out and has placed us right where He wants us to be.
He is an awesome God, friend! He plans are so perfect I cannot wrap my head around the beginning of them sometimes. I love reading the history of the Bible because it is such reassurance that God is faithful. Thank you for sharing today.
My mom met my father at the diner where she worked. He became a pastor and evangelist because of her witness. Life was not perfect growing up, but I knew God's love thanks to my mom. Great post. 😉
That's great, Mary. Women can have such an impact on their men and children. As women we need to take that very seriously and use it to build up and influence for the good just as your mom did to impact your father and you. Thanks for sharing your family story.
I love this story, Jaime! Thanks for sharing it! I can see legacies as well. The one that jumped out is my dad's family (His middle name was Rufus.). They came to the U.S. from Switzerland as Mennonites looking for greater religious freedom back in the 1770's. Then my grandfather's family moved from where they first settled (PA) to Ohio. Within this family line were pastors, worship leaders, and a long, consistent line of leaders in churches. When I look at my life and the lives of our children and now grandchildren, I cannot help but think that the prayers of many generations before me have brought me to this place.
Isn't that amazing, Pam. That is such a beautiful example of how generations can impact generations for the kingdom. How wonderful for you to have all of those generations that have prayed for your saving grace without even knowing of your existence. Someday, won't that be a great reunion! Great to see you here, friend!
YES! This is your story and it is worth everything because it holds near to your heart. Your family, the generations of special people are heroes to us, and God's children, we pray. It is such a blessing to know that they knew the Lord, just as it blesses us to know our children know Him as well.
What an amazing opportunity we have to leave a living Legacy of a God that came down to meet us and rescue us to Himself. There is nothing more that I desire for my children than to know the love that Christ has for them. Thank you so much for stopping by friend.
I have a wonderful testimony of God's hand and faithfulness in my family that brought us to salvation. I am forever grateful!
We would love to hear it. If you share it in a post let us know so we can read it and get to know your story. Thank you for sharing, Elizabeth.
Thank you for hosting and for sharing your love of God with my readers at Party at My Place. Wishing you a blessed Easter.
Thank you, Michelle. I am always glad you stop by and give such encouraging comments. I hope you had a wonderful Easter.
What a neat story about your grandparents! I love history and I love life stories so much – how fun it would be to sit and listen to them tell their stories! I am always in awe of how God puts all the puzzle pieces together to tell a story through generations. I had never took much notice of Rufus before this post. I love what you did here with his story!
Thanks so much, friend!!
Hugs,
Lori
My grandfather (my dad's father) was king of telling stories. He loved to tell stories of the war to anyone who would listen. I think it was his way to release all that he faced. Especially when he got older he would tell them over again. They never got old and they have made me appreciate so well the fight he went through for us. He lived to be 94 years old and was a wonderful and amazing grandpa.
Hey Jaime,
What a great word!
Don't you love knowing that God has a perfect plan for us (and has had it since before the world was formed)!!
This is awesome to think about.
I found your post today on Social Butterfly.
Hope you have a great week~
Melanie
Love being a Social Butterfly. I LOVE knowing that God has a perfect plan for us because left up to me, I am sure I would blow it. It is nice to know that He will intervene and intercede for me. Have a great week!
What an encouraging message for a Monday morning! God knows our names and has a plan. We can trust Him with all the details. Visiting from the Mommy Monday Blog Hop and also Linking up with your Link Party today as well – thanks for hosting 🙂
We can trust Him with all the details.Just when I think I am going to step right in, He reminds me, He has this and He has my best interest at heart because He loves me. What an awesome reassurance.
It's so good to know we can trust in God's sovereign work in our lives. He always has a plan and is working out that plan in our lives! Thanks for hosting!
So good to know, Donna. Sovereignty is such a complex thing to wrap our heads around but to know that God has got this one is such weight off this sometimes heavy heart. So glad you are here to encourage us.
Thanks for hosting and linking up at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week!Have a wonderful week!
So glad you are here, Charlene. Thank you for hosting your linkup and inviting us to be a part of it. Have a fantastic week!