Isaiah 54:13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.

 

Yesterday, I began to share a personal story about my grandson, Joseph. If you haven’t read the Morning Message for yesterday (July 6, 2022), you need to do so before proceeding here.

 

After nine years of being away, Joseph came to live with me. He was sixteen and he had ventured off into the world a little. Joseph was not a bad kid and he hadn’t done anything really bad, he had just drifted from his faith because for nine years he had no consistent spiritual guidance.

 

You see, Joseph was my baby; my only grandson and I knew God had a very special plan for his life because according to the doctors, he should not have even been conceived let alone born healthy at 26 weeks gestation.

 

When Joseph came to live with me we sat down and had a talk. I was bound and determined to teach him some all-important life skills in addition to his spiritual training. We made a schedule and part of it was for him to come to my house every morning at 8:00 am for a time of devotion and prayer. We did this for six months.

 

Then, early one morning during my quiet time with the Lord, He said, “Stop teaching Joseph. I will teach him what I want him to learn.” I knew this was a Word from the Lord, so I did it. I didn’t tell Joseph what God had said, I simply stopped having him come over for our morning devotion and prayer.

 

In a way, that morning I laid Joseph at the feet of Jesus trusting the Holy Spirit to be his Teacher. Like Abraham, Joseph was my Isaac and God had asked me to sacrifice him; give him up to the control and teaching of the Holy Spirit.

 

Immediately, the Holy Spirit began teaching Joseph some things that I didn’t even know! Joseph is smart and he likes to read and the Holy Spirit had him studying the Word of God far more than I would have ever asked him to. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)

 

To make a long story short, within about six months Joseph knew God’s Plan for his ministry. The Holy Spirit had directed him in his course of study and Joseph eagerly took it on. He has now stepped out into his own ministry while helping here at the Retreat Facility and during our Worship and Ministry Service on Sunday afternoons.

 

I knew from the day he was born that God had something special for him, but I didn’t know what it was. I had to let go of Joseph so God could take hold of him. In essence, like Abraham, I had to lay him down on the Altar and give him to God.

 

I see now that Joseph is my Isaac. It wasn’t easy to do this, but the Blessings have been tremendous as I watch him grow in his faith every day. We all have an Isaac in our lives. Whoever, or whatever, your Isaac is, offer them up to God and watch the Holy Spirit work in their lives. Pray and get out of God’s way. Let go and God will take hold. You can trust God to do what you cannot do.

 

 

Let God and God will….….turn the tide ……….in your life.

 

What a lesson!         Doreen

 

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