A new start – Day 20

[BACKGROUND: I would like to share three readers’ testimonies of God’s greatness.]

READER 1, Elize: “For 23 years, my husband was an alcoholic. This caused many problems in our marriage. Over the years, my husband was admitted to various rehabilitation centres, but every time it seemed like the problem worsened when he left the centre. I could not understand why such a good man would waste his life in this way.

In December 2001, I moved out of the house and went to live 25 km out of town. Our son, who was in matric at the time, and our daughter stayed with their father. Early one morning at about 05:00, I received a phone call from my daughter. She told me that my husband was in the hospital because he was vomiting blood.

I rushed to the hospital and found my husband in a bad shape, as he had lost a large amount of blood. According to the doctors, his life hung by a thread and he could have died if our children had found him 30 minutes later.

I sat next to his bed and asked him if he did not want to make King Jesus the head of his life. He could help him with his drinking problem. My husband decided to do it!

God not only healed him from his alcohol addiction, but He also saved and restored our marriage completely! My husband has been free from alcohol for years! All glory goes to God for this huge miracle.”

READER 2, Pieter: “My wife and I attended the wedding of good friends in Chrissiemeer, Mpumalanga. The ceremony was held in a beautiful pine forest outside the town. With all the excitement during that day, the bride’s engagement and wedding rings got lost.

Even though the groom and his relatives searched furiously, the couple had to get married without the rings. After the ceremony, the family and friends prayed for God’s guidance again while they searched once more through the forest. Once again, they found nothing.

The day after the wedding, my wife and I returned to the forest to take pictures. I had a strange feeling that we would find the rings and even jokingly said to my wife, ‘Imagine if we find the rings?’

We arrived at the forest and my wife started to photograph the landscape. I walked around and took a stick to sweep through the grass. I did it for barely three minutes, when I saw something glittery in the grass. It was Cornelia’s engagement ring! God indeed led us to find the ring. All glory to him!”

READER 3, André: “When our son was one year old, he became seriously ill. We took him to the doctor who immediately wanted to admit him to hospital. We assured him that we could take good care of him at home. The doctor agreed that we could take our son home, but wanted to see him the following day for a check-up, as his condition was serious.

That night after our son fell asleep, we could hear him breathing with difficulty. My wife and I knelt next to his bed and pleaded with God for his mercy. In faith, we stood up, closed the door behind us and went to sit with our 9-year-old daughter.

When we returned a few minutes later to check on our son, we realised that his breathing was completely normal!

When we took him to the doctor the next day, he could not believe that it was the same child. God did a miracle for us – because we completely trusted in him!”

God is good and he wants to demonstrate his goodness to us daily. Listen again to the words in Psalm 100:5: “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Let us keep our eyes open to experience God’s goodness daily in our lives! He wants to help us. God bless.