A co-worker loaned me a copy of the book "You only think God is Silent - Hearing God in the defining moments of our lives", by Julie Ann Allen, shortly after he lost his mother to cancer. Little did I know I would suffer the loss of my own mother the following year to Leukemia.
Julie Allen lost her husband to a freak construction accident where he was accidentally buried under large pieces of cement that should have been carried off the work site along with tons of dirt. A track hoe driver failed to check for her husband's whereabouts before burying some large pieces of concrete in a trench. Julie shares in her book how God's Grace sustained her and "lifted her out of the muddiest, darkest, most pitiful, and sorrowful place she could have imagined. More than that, God, put a song back in her heart."
Julie now lives in Grapevine, Texas and has two children. She is a deacon in music ministry at the United Methodist Church.
Julie says she "learned what it was like to stand at a crossroad generated by tragedy and make a choice. That choice became a defining moment. She could either ignore God and/or blame Him for the tragedy, or hear God and rely on Him to sustain her, transform her, and reconstruct her life as she passed through this profound tragedy."
I keep these scriptures printed out and taped on my bathroom mirror, a copy in my Bible, and share them often with others.
My favorite scriptures are the ones she used throughout her book:
James 1:2-4 "My brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have it's full effect, so that you may be mature and complete lacking in nothing."
Psalm 59: 16-17 "But will sing of thy might; I will sing aloud of thy steadfast love in the morning. For thou hast been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to thee, for thou, O God, art my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love."
John 14:27 " Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid."
Romans 8:26 "In the same way the spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit."
Job 42 16-17 "After this Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died old and full of years."
Isaiah 40:11 "He will feed his flock like a shepherd/; He will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep."
Jeremiah 29:11 "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."
Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Psalm 23:4 "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
Psalm 37:5-6 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this; He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
Isaiah 55:12 "For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace."
Psalm 30:11 " You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have taken off my sackcloth and have clothed me with joy."
Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."
Deuteronomy 31:8 " It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you, He will not fail you or forsake you."
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
James 1:20 "For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God; will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
John 14:27 " Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Isaiah 40:31 "And they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."
Hebrews 12:1 "...Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Philippians 3:12 " Not that I have already obtained this or have reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Jesus has made me his own."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
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