01 Dec From Here (How to turn your setback into a comeback) part 1

Approximately thirty-two years ago I was just a fairly new believer.  I lived in an antiquated apartment just outside the University of Tennessee.  It was there that I met an elderly widow in her 70’s, by the name of Mary.  Mary had no vehicle and therefore had to walk to get her weekly groceries.  I would frequently see Mary walking to and fro, and I began to develop a rapport with her.  It was my desire to eventually lead her to Jesus.

After awhile, I truly sensed the Holy Spirit strongly directing me to share Jesus with her in a very urgent way.  As a young believer, I procrastinated talking to Mary a couple of times.  Well, a couple of weeks passed by and I did not see Mary.  I inquired about her with a couple of my neighbors.  One of my neighbors told me, “Didn’t you hear?”  “Hear what?” I replied.  “Mary was walking to the store the other day and was hit by a car and killed!”  My heart sank as I realized Mary quite possibly could be spending eternity in hell.

A tremendous amount of guilt began to flood my soul.  After I repented for not sharing my faith with Mary, the Lord began to mercifully minister to me.  Slowly He began to enlighten me that I could either wallow in the guilt of not witnessing to Mary or I could live a constructive life and use this situation to motivate me to share Jesus with others.  I chose to live my life…from here!

The Bible tells us a very simple but profound truth, “Rejoice evermore” (I Thes. 5:16).  The Greek word “evermore” means “from this point on”.  In every day language, this powerful verse tells us to live our lives from here!  I have decided a long time ago I’m not going to get bitter…I’m going to get better.  This negative situation is not going to be a tombstone, but a stepping stone.  I’m going to turn this setback into a comeback.  I’m going to live my life from here!

Join us over the next several weeks as we continue our series – From Here