Stand strong, be patient and NEVER give up!

This is part 2 of my “lessons on faith”.  This section is something that I believe is for a different set of people who have been believing for something for a very long time and feel like God isn’t listening or doesn’t care.

When I was 10 my parents divorced.  I am not really sure when exactly my dad stopped going to church, but I do know that since I was 10 I believed that someday he would come back.  As I became an adult I would invite him to come to church with us and on a few occasions he did.  I always knew that my dad loved God, but was sorting through stuff in his head and in his own way.  My dad always said to me “Just be patient with me and don’t give up on me.”  And so I waited.  I prayed constantly that God would set up the perfect moment in time that I would ask him to come to church, he would come, he would love it and would start being consistent in church.  I stood in faith for 24 years; for 24 years I was patient with him and never once gave up.  I knew God was working it all out and when the time was right my dad would come.  I really don’t know how I knew except that I had a great peace about it; I never even thought that there was a chance that he wouldn’t come.  In August of 2010 we started going to a new church.  Our family became involved very quickly and loved what God used us to do in this church (and we still do).  One  Sunday night we were going to have a Worship Night and I felt very strongly inside that I was suppose to invite my dad; he had come to special nights at other churches with us so surely he would come to this.  Sure enough, he came.  I felt bad because I had invited him and unexpectedly was on stage and so I wasn’t able to sit with him.  At the end of the night I asked him what he thought and he really enjoyed it.  Later in the week we had some conversations; I began to see doors for more in depth conversations begin to open…conversations that I had never had with my dad.  I invited him back to church, honestly expecting that he wouldn’t come; he came!  Everything else from there is really a blur because he has consistently come every Sunday and Wednesday ever since.  Then I really felt like I was suppose to talk to him about playing the bass guitar.  This is something I know he enjoys and I know he does well, but wasn’t too sure about how he would feel about playing in church.  I really don’t remember everything that happened because God moved quickly; what I do remember is the first Sunday that my dad came to rehearsal before church.  I was on stage rehearsing and looked back and saw my dad working hard to learn our music (so not the style he is use to).  I really struggled to not break down and cry.  You see, I believed God that my dad would someday be back in church, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would actually be doing praise and worship with him at church.  On a weekly basis I look out in the crowd and I see my dad standing out there; he may not know the songs, he may not raise his hands, but he is there and he is learning the music to play with the band.  God so far exceeded my expectations, but I had to stand firm in my faith that God would bring him back to church.  Yes, even 24 years!

Someone is reading this right now and you have been believing for something for a long time.  You feel like your prayer will never be answered or like God has either forgotten you or just doesn’t care.  I want to encourage you to continue to stand strong!  God does truly care about you, He cares about your prayer and He truly cares about the desires of your heart.  You may not get an answer tomorrow…you may not get one for 24 years, but one thing I do know for sure is that you WILL get an answer.  So, I encourage you…stand strong in your faith, be patient and don’t ever give up!