Truth In Trust

PART ONE Pages 122-125

2:27 P.M., SUNDAY, JANUARY 30TH

I am now sitting in a pew inside the building of CPW Ministries(Christ's Perfect Will), listening to a long yet interesting message by Pastor Vernon, aka my Grandpa. When I turned sixteen on November 22nd, I was automatically allowed to participate in the adult service, rather than the children's(5-9) and the youth's(10-15). Anyway, so far, he has been touching on the subject of change, and how it relates to purpose. It's actually very eye-opening. At least, I think so. I have been taking notes in the useful yet still stylish diary my mom gifted me with for my birthday.

"What does it mean to prosper? Well, it means to take a stand and know you have a purpose!"

"Amen!" someone murmured in agreement.

"It means you embody who Christ says you are, complete with all of His blessings waiting in store for us!"

"Glory!" another member cried out. Yet other persons in the congregation nodded their heads to show their agreement.

"So, for today's second scripture reading, I would like us to look at Deuteronomy 2:7."

I jotted down the bible verse and took out my purple leather covered bible. I look around me and see many people doing the same. After I glide my finger carefully over the chapter, I stop at the seventh scripture and read silently.

For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.

Just as the syllables of the final word roll off my tongue, I hear my Grandpa resume his sermon.

"I want you all to think about how exactly the Israelites made it out of that wilderness. What, or rather Who did it?"

"The Lord God Almighty, Pastor!" Sister Allen, a familiar member, shouted out in response, from where she is sitting with her two grandnephews, Jacob and Joseph.

"Mmh-hmm!" Many others go, again, in agreement.

"Well, I am glad you know they only made it out due to the mighty power of our mighty God. If it weren't for Jesus, I hear a lot of people testify, they would not have made it. How true that is, even today. In our society, it is so easy to forget Who is in control of our lives. Who has the power to give and the power to take away."

"Yes, Pastor!"

"Hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah again!"

"Amen and amen!!"

"Now. Let's look at where it says, 'these forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing'. This means, essentially, that no matter what they faced in that desert dry wilderness, they never once faced it off alone. It means whether or not they had the faith to move mountains, God was in their midst, always, there just to make a way and stay true and keep His promise of the promiseland."

"Jesus!" Sister Veronica, who left the church for a while for reasons I cannot disclose, practically screams out, while shaking her body as if it was on fire.

"Yes, so. It is important to remember today's main message, which is 'Change Causes Purpose'. Every season means new obstacles, new problems, new challenges, but all to usher you into new opportunities, new chances. God is going to open your eyes to the new heights He's bringing you to! Say 'Glory Hallelujah' if you believe it like I do!!"

"Glory hallelujah!" About forty-five members shout in unison, including me.

For a moment I feel as if I might faint, but I don't know why. Then my mind flashes back to me skipping breakfast in order to be early for the 10 A.M. service. Of course, I also had a light lunch so I could arrive on-time for the two o'clock service. The world suddenly tilts on its axis, or so it seems, as my body falls out of the seat I'm in and sinks to the floor. Everything is now black, and I am no longer conscious. I hear no more of my Grandpa's sermon.