Are there any Elvis fans out there? That’s a silly question, isn’t it? Most Elvis fans I know even have a preference to either “early Elvis” or “later Elvis”; meaning they prefer his earliest recordings or his later ones.
If you’re a “later Elvis” fan you are aware of the fact that he recorded several gospel albums; including the “He Touched Me” album for which he wrote a song called “I’ve Got Confidence”
Here are the first few lines and the chorus to that song:
When trouble is in my way; I can’t tell the night from day; I toss from side to side; Like a ship on a raging tide; I don’t worry and I don’t fret; God has never failed me yet; Troubles comin’ from time to time; But that’s all right, ’cause I’m not the worrying kind; Because I, I’ve got confidence,
God is gonna see me through; No matter what the case may be; I know He’s gonna fix it for me
When it came out a couple of Christian artists did their own renditions of it and countless people sang the song in churches across the country. I know because I was a pre-teen when it came out and I heard it many, many times. But the words stuck—just like the words to songs like “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, “I Don’t Know Who Holds Tomorrow”, “He Lifted Me”, and many other hymns that declare the promise of the LORD to be our protector, defender, and comforter in our times of need.
In my fifty-five years I’ve given God several opportunities to make good on that promise and I can tell you for sure and for certain that he has never let me down…not ever.
1. My Health
Our bodies are meant to function just a certain way, but my body didn’t get that memo on how our kidneys are supposed to work. I’ve dealt with all that entails since I was a teenager, but eleven years ago the problem caused serious complications including a septic blood infection.
They told my husband there was a 60% chance I would not recover. I prayed diligently for God’s healing mercies. I had four children—three of whom were still at home.
God heard my prayers. He allowed me to live and he was there every step of the way during the two-year recovery process.
2. My Daughter
When my middle daughter went away to college she turned her back on her faith. Well, that’s not entirely true. She was two-faced. She tried being the Christian Olivia on Sunday and when she was around family and friends back home, but the rest of the time she was someone I didn’t want to know.
I prayed. No, I begged God to give me my daughter back—to give me the wisdom to handle the situation as he wanted me to, to give me the words to speak to her and to bring her to her knees before him in humility and repentance. I also had to pray for faith to trust his timing to answer my prayers.
It wasn’t easy, but God is ever-faithful and he answered my prayers. He didn’t make it easy on my daughter and he most certainly did bring her to her knees, but God’s answers to our prayers don’t automatically mean everything will be peachy-keen. Our sin often makes that impossible. But he is always there if we will just let him be.
3. My Granny
My Granny was my best friend and constant in my life. For fifty-two years she was a part of my life every single day of my life. She was second only to Jesus in her gift for loving unconditionally.
The last seven years of her life gave me the opportunity to give back a tiny bit of that unconditional love as we dealt with the realities of Alzheimer’s. People talk about how difficult it is to deal with, but I have to say I didn’t find it difficult.
I would describe my experience as an honor and a blessing. It made me sad to witness the deterioration of the woman I cherished so dearly, but through it all I prayed that I would be able to honor both her and God in how I cared for her.
God answered my prayers by filling my heart with positivity, thankfulness, calm, and determination to take care of her to the end.
He protected her from many of the things Alzheimer’s patients experience, and he allowed Granny to never forget me. He was present every step of the way—including the day she was laid to rest.
As I stood before a crowd of nearly two hundred people paying tribute to Granny, I did so with a voice that did not break and a heart that was full of joy for the fact that she was no longer suffering. I still miss Granny’s unconditional love, but each and every day God reminds me I still have and will always have His.
4. My Health (take two)
This time last year I was in the hospital for surgery number eight on my kidneys—that’s surgery number eight in a span of five months. In addition to the surgeries I’d spent a month and a half in the hospital because once again my kidney problems had caused my blood to become septic, and in trying to get that situation corrected, my kidneys and liver started shutting down and bacteria started attaching itself to my eyes and my brain.
The doctors said it was a miracle I’d survived the first bout of sepsis a few years ago, but that it would be next to impossible for me to beat the odds a second time—especially with the other problems I was dealing with.
As I looked into the faces of my husband, children and grandchildren, I prayed that God would give us all the strength to deal with whatever God’s will was for my life.
I prayed that my life could be a witness no matter what the outcome and that if I survived I would have the courage and wisdom to do whatever it is God has in mind for me to do.
I’m writing this, so you know God granted me a little more time. Quite honestly they’re not sure how long that will be, but each day is a day to be thankful for and I call on God to give me the wisdom to make the most of every single one of them.
I could worry and fret over a lot of things, but I don’t because God has proven to me over and over again that he is in control, that his ways are always best, that his timing is always perfect and the he will never let me down. He’ll do the same for you, too.
~ By Darla Noble
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