This week’s guest blogger is a woman who has encouraged and inspired me from the day we met.  Her ministry and friendship have brought hope and strength into my life in some of its most uncertain times.  Allow me to introduce to you my friend and role model, Kelly Hall.

Kelly Hall, author of Courageous Faith and conference speaker, loves encouraging women to embrace an intimate and courageous walk of faith. She has been married for 28 years to her best friend and has raised four children. For more: go to www.SurrenderedHeart.com

God is…Sovereign

“Yep she’s deaf. There’s nothing you can do about it.” I struggled to make sense of the doctor’s diagnosis. Kayla, our fifteen month old baby girl, with those big blue eyes, blond curly hair and larger-than-life laugh, was profoundly deaf. Could this really be true?

My husband, Lee and I had prayed throughout the pregnancy for a healthy baby and had offered prayers of thanksgiving for our perfect little girl ever since the day of her birth. How could God have allowed this to happen? A part of me felt as if God had betrayed me, betrayed my trust. Hadn’t he heard my prayers? Hadn’t He been paying attention?

As I came before the Lord that day with my broken heart and tangled mess of confused thoughts, He gently began to remind me of His precious promises.

“And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

God brought the story of Joseph to mind. This Biblical story, so familiar, struck me with fresh intensity. Betrayed, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned, and yet through all the confusion and heartache, Joseph trusted that God’s sovereign plan would be carried out and then had a front row seat to the climactic culmination of God’s purposes.

As the power of God’s goodness and sovereignty washed across my ragged soul, I was surprised by an emerging sense of hope. My heart was filled with a majestic vision of a God who always and without fail brings purpose out of our pain. I actually began to feel a sense of anticipation of the good God was going to accomplish in our lives.

With unshakeable certainty, I knew that God was completely in control of our family. I knew Kayla’s deafness hadn’t taken Him by surprise. I sensed Him saying, “Kelly, I will never leave you or forsake you. I will work in and through this situation to bring glory to My name and you’re going to see My goodness up close and personal. I promise.”

I will always consider that moment miraculous, for only in the hands of an Almighty God, can a freshly broken heart be filled with hope. For the first time I understood that grief and hope could reside side by side in the same heart.

As our family story began to unfold, more surprises awaited us. During my second pregnancy, we discovered that Lee and I were carriers of recessive genes that cause deafness. We prayed for God’s will to be done and David was born with perfect hearing.

After Lee and I made a prayerful decision not to have more children, we were surprised with twin baby girls. When they were two weeks old, we discovered that they too were profoundly deaf. Once again, in that place of deep disappointment, God surprised me with hope… hope that never disappoints. His unfailing promises and unchanging character held me close and helped me discover more deeply the sweet comfort of trusting in His ways rather than my own.

Our family’s challenges were compounded by the frequent moves and deployments necessitated by Lee’s career as an Air Force fighter pilot. But through the heartache and the hardship, God’s sovereignty and goodness have remained front and center.

God has taught me that my faith walk is made up of daily choices but the one that has become the bedrock of my faith and the underlying prayer of my life: Lord, I refuse to be overcome by my circumstances or controlled by my emotions. Instead I choose to live my life fully convinced that Your character is unchanging, Your promises unfailing, and my eternal hope in Jesus Christ will never disappoint.

Aren’t you grateful that for all eternity we can rest in His sovereignty and trust His heart?

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If you missed out on last week’s guest post, be sure to check it out.  It was another wonderful example of our Great God living up to His Name.  If you have a story about God being who He says He is, we would love to hear it.  Leave a comment below.