WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Psalm 107:43 NLT
Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our {your} history the faithful love of the Lord.
What do you see when you look back on your life? When was the last time you seriously took the time to reflect back on your life, to see all the moments of Divine Providence in your life?
For me one of the most exhilarating, encouraging things to do is to look backwards on my life, to see in my own personal history, the amazing, divine moments of Providence and God’s supernatural interventions in my life. It stirs my faith, greatly encourages my soul, and fills me with gratitude, drawing me closer to God.
It was December 2, 1975. I had just attended a concert at Vets auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. It was around 2 in the morning and I was driving home in my 1966 Datsun 1600 Roadster. It was very cold and I was extremely tired. I must have fallen asleep several times during the drive home, as twice I found myself shaken awake driving in the grass ditch that divided the north and south bound highway to my home. It is absolutely miraculous I arrived home safely that early morning. God divinely intervened, saving me from a terrible accident, but also used that intervention to scare me to death. It was the catalyst that drove me to a life of radical devotion and surrender to Jesus Christ!
My car, this one of a kind 1966 Datsun Roadster, I’d purchased from my Uncle. Little did I realize how it would change and redirect my life. I lived in a small Iowa town at the time. This was a very unique car. Very rare. One evening after work, I needed to have it checked out for a recurring problem, so I drove to Gerber Auto repair. As I got out of my car, another identical car to mine drove up beside me. Out stepped a long hair, leather jacket wearing guy, like myself. He began a conversation with me about my rare car, identical to his, and shortly after asked me about Jesus. Though at the moment, I wasn’t interested, this guy, with the same car, who at the time was a radical Christian, soon became a close friend. We would often go out sharing the Gospel with young people. In fact, he’s the one who told me about the Christian conference at Twin Lakes Camp in Iowa. We drove there together in his 1967 Datsun Roadster. That night stepping out of the car in the pouring rain, running under the awning of the popcorn stand, I met the most amazing young lady named Kathy, who I knew then would eventually become my wife. God put her in that exact spot, at that precise moment so we could meet. Originally, she wasn’t going to be at the conference as she had no money to pay for it. She had earnestly prayed, “Lord, if you want me to go, please give me the money to go.” Someone left the exact amount of cash needed under her door to go, and for that reason she was there at that precise moment in time! Looking back on our 44 years of marriage I see ever so clearly, God made Kathy in every possible way just for me. She has been the greatest partner in ministry, life, and family I could’ve ever imagined. God’s providential hand in all of this was amazing!
Over the next 47 years of my life I experienced over and over again the amazing, Divine interventions and providence of God. I could write page after page of true stories from my history of the faithful love of the Lord.
In December of 1986 I moved to the Twin Cities to start and plant new churches. I began to Pastor a small group of believers, meeting in a small, rented auditorium in South Minneapolis. Shortly after they sold the facility and gave us a couple weeks to get out. I knew it would take the divine intervention of God to give us something in such a short time. I also felt the Lord was leading us to redesign our service and start something brand new. Most states at that time did not allow churches to meet in schools. But I knew that many schools have great auditoriums that sit empty every single Sunday. So I took a step of faith. I called the school offices in Bloomington, MN to ask about a facility to rent. An older lady named Maria answered and said, “I have a place I can show you, please come in.” When I got there, she said, “Normally we do not rent our facilities to churches, but just this morning, minutes before you called me, our superintendent came to my desk and said, Maria, I want you to rent out our facilities to churches if any are interested!” She then drove me to see Oak Grove School and the auditorium. I was stunned. I couldn’t have wished or asked for anything better. It had a huge parking lot, fantastic auditorium, and they let us store all of our stuff there. We launched our new church from there and God blessed us immensely. Eventually thousands came to 4 services each weekend, many came to know Christ as their Savior. All of this was God’s Providential hand, His divine intervention.
During my daughters 7 year illness, as we entered the 6th year, I had a young Christian man approach me who attended my church. He had a unique spirit, and a unique set of skills related to health. He took me aside and said, “Pastor Mark, I feel strongly the Lord wants me to help with your daughter. I feel called to do this. If you are willing to let me, and it seems good to you, I would really like to help you and your family.” Honestly, I was not sure exactly what to think, but there was no question of his sincerity, faith, and humility. He was so genuine. I felt I should say yes, and this began an incredibly significant journey in my daughter’s life and health. He became a vital part of her healing process, he helped her immensely! Eventually, they got engaged and have been married 10 years already! God was all over that situation. It was all God’s divine providence, His Divine intervention in our lives.
In 2018, things transpired that I would’ve never imagined. It was a time of tremendous heartache, loss, and betrayal. God, in His Divine Providence, brought a man into our lives, a man I didn’t even know living out of state, whose life, unbeknownst to me, had been greatly impacted by a series of my parenting messages in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He called, generously offering his legal services at no charge. God used him to be a great encouragement to me, my wife and family as we walked through that nightmarish injustice. It was this man, who used his wise, professional knowledge and skills to file all the documentation work to apply for my Strong Disciple 501c3 ministry exemption. His highly skilled work resulted in my approval as a nonprofit ministry, without which, I could not do this ministry. Once again, God’s Divine hand was all over my life.
Even today, looking back on the last almost 6 years, as in a sense, my previous life ended and a new one began. I see each of you, every subscriber, every generous donor and supporter, every single one of you, God has in fact, miraculously brought into my life. I see once again, the Divine providence and supernatural intervention of God. I see the Lord’s faithful love in my new, most recent history, as much as I saw it in the previous 42 years of my life with Christ.
This is the reason I am so overwhelmingly grateful. This is the reason my faith stays energized and strong for my tomorrows. This is my reason for joy! This is my reason for being encouraged. It fills me with hope for my tomorrows. I take time every single day to look back on my history and I see over and over again the incredible, faithful love of the Lord!
So, let me ask you again. What do you see when you look back at your life, on your history?
I urge you, take the time, take devoted, undistracted time to think back, look back, find and identify the Divine moments of divine interventions in your life and write them down. Call them to mind, thank God for them. If you want to see more of God, start deliberately looking and you will see Him all over your life and circumstances! If you are wise, you’ll do this, and it will change your life and your walk with God!
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
