Raise 'Em and Praise Him - Testimony Tuesday!

The Peace of God

It was a Tuesday morning and it was surprising I wasn’t more tired considering I had a very restless night of sleep. 

I started the day in prayer and what dominated my prayers that Tuesday morning was for my wife. She was going to a follow-up appointment to determine if she had breast cancer. She had her routine mammogram a few weeks prior and they didn’t like what they saw. They urged her to come in for more extensive exams as soon as possible. She missed her annual mammogram the prior year so this could be bad! I had lots of questions going through my mind. If she has this how long has she had it? What if it has started to spread? How do we discuss this with our children and family? How will I be the proper support for her? I actually read some things online during those two weeks about husbands supporting their wives through this terrible disease. I was praying for the best and trying to prepare myself for the worse. I am not one that espouses to the idea that this can’t happen to me or us. God’s plan for our lives is never that easy. He dealt with trials and so will we. One of the worst parts of this morning is I’m in Chicago and my wife is in North Carolina. I won’t be there with her during these tests. She will learn things without me. Although my flight was the next day I still felt guilty and helpless.

I finish my prayers and get ready to start the day when my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and it’s a minister from my church in NC. He calls me periodically to check in but I haven’t heard from him in probably six months. I’m really not in the mood for being upbeat and tell him I’m doing fine and thank him for checking on me. I’m also not prepared to tell him about my wife as we have told no one other than her sisters and that was just the night before. We hadn’t even told our children. I answer anyway and after exchanging the traditional pleasantries he says “I know you are busy and getting ready for work but God told me to call you and say you will give Him praise today…that today will be a Holla-day” That’s his signature phrase. I said “wow…thank you for that” not really knowing what to say. He then said, “I don’t know what’s going on in your life but it’s gonna be a Holla-day”. I then said, “bless you, sir”. 

The tests that day came back negative and no need for a follow-up just regular screenings. Needless to say, we were both so relieved and certainly gave God some praise that afternoon and together when I arrived home the next day!

I entitled this the peace of God because after that phone call I had a peace come over me that’s hard to explain. I knew the results would be in our favor and I called my wife and told her that. As I’ve taught Church School and Bible Study classes over the years one thing I’ve said on many occasions is we often take for granted the peace God provides through salvation. We talk about His sacrifice and His grace and His forgiveness and they are all worthy of our praise. However, we often don’t talk about the peace of God with that same fervor. God provided peace for us that morning. My hope is I would have had peace even if the results of the tests were different.

Thank God today and each day for His peace in our lives and this often crazy world we live. If we stand in His peace, every day will truly be a Holla-day! Be blessed!

Lance Bennett