Nothing in 2019 came easy, there have been some setbacks, but some significant victories too.
In many ways 2019 reminded me a lot of the whole decade just past. At the very end of 2009 my family and I moved to Gig Harbor in Washington State from Johannesburg, South Africa. The most difficult thing I have ever done!
By God’s Grace we are still here, I'm not in the best of shape, but we have survived and we’ve had the privilege of bringing God’s Kingdom with us.
- 2019 was the year we applied for permanent residence after 10 years in the USA.
- 2019 was also the year we celebrated our 5th anniversary at Firebrand; the church we planted in 2014.
- 2019 was the year my father in law died. Dad was an amazing father, pastor, and preacher. A man who had, and still has, my respect and admiration.
- 2019 was also the year I was diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS). The battle with this disease has been immense. PLS is extremely difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat.
What God says God does, my only job is to be sure what it is that God actually says.
In all these things (victories and setbacks, hardships and breakthroughs) there have been some constants. The most significant of these have been the following three, in order of importance:
- God has remained true to precisely what He said He would do in and through us.
I try and comprehend the magnitude of this, and I cannot. What God says God does, my only job is to be sure what it is that God actually says. - Meg, my wife, has been unstoppable in her determination to follow Him and in her love for me.
She is a pillar of strength, even in her weakness and vulnerability; and she is an example of Godliness and devotion to The Word and The Spirit of God. - Every step we have taken in Faith God has multiplied to transform lives.
The last week of 2019 I believe that God said this to me: “Wherever you go my power brings freedom and transformation into people’s lives.” This has happened with uncanny regularity and undeniable power!
"Wherever you go my power brings freedom and transformation into people’s lives."
So we enter 2020 with these words ringing in our ears:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Some say that God said “No” when Paul asked Him to take away his “thorn in the flesh”; but that is not what God said, That is not the level God moves in. He is busy with something much grander than that; God moves in power through weakness.
My wife Meg, and our son, Daniel in November 2019.
