Grounded upon God's love, I faced a tremendous trial

My ordinary Thursday evening was shattered with news from my daughter Danielle, who lived in South Carolina at the time. She had been attacked by a masked man in front of her home upon returning from Bible study… It was my foundation on God’s love that made the next few days after this news, possible.

It is the desire of God’s heart that we know His love for us. “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He gave up His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Amplified John 3:16). Giving meant, Jesus would be a human sacrifice for us. Giving meant that because of His sacrifice, that the Father would send the Holy Spirit of His Son, into our hearts; we would become His children (Galatians 4:6). We should know how “…dearly God loves us, because He has sent the Holy Spirit of His Son to fill our hearts with His love” (Romans 5:5). But do we really know His love, a love that is meant to be experienced; a love that is meant to be the source of our lives, a love that is meant to provide great confidence in the One Who loves us unconditionally?

The revelation of God’s love has increasingly become the foundation of my own life (and yes, I am still growing in that knowledge). But I have experienced His love, exactly as the Word states, that being founded securely on His love, has given me power and strength to apprehend and grasp the magnificence of His love even in the midst of trial. That Thursday evening, I experienced a great trial…

Shortly prior to that Thursday, Danielle became a newly baptized child of God. To have your adult child confirm Jesus as her Savior after several years of living a lost life, was a miracle and answer to prayer! This event certainly was a test of her faith, a precious newborn, you might say, as well as mine.

The evening events unfolded when she parked in front of her townhouse. While stepping out of the vehicle, she was confronted by a masked man. He grabbed her from behind and held her in a choke hold. Within moments he turned her around to face him. She knew only one thing to do, she cried out, “JESUS!” The power of His name changed the situation! Immediately the bandana that covered his face slipped down. In panic he released his hold on Danielle, and stole her car. But prior to driving away, she foolishly reached across him to retrieve her purse, but he pushed her backward and quickly placed the car into reverse. This occurred without any injury to her by the car or further attack from him. She immediately went to a neighbor’s house where the police were called. They chased the suspect until finding my daughter’s car abandoned on the road in a wooded area. A search in the woods yielded no results. Danielle was requested to come and identify her vehicle, which she confirmed. The perpetrator had run from the car leaving her Bible, purse and keys. When Danielle drove the car from the scene, she realized it would not exceed speeds of about 30 MPH; he must have damaged the automobile in some way, was her thought.

Notified by Danielle of the situation, my husband and I traveled hours to love, comfort and protect our daughter. We spent the weekend praising God for His protection, and the powerful name of Jesus. I covered the entire area that she lived in prayer. Throughout the weekend, Danielle expressed her doubt that she would be able to stay in her home or remain at that location. Interestingly, she had made arrangements to sale her townhouse just prior to the event that occurred. She was finally returning home to Chesapeake.

Sunday morning, we attended church together. The Holy Spirit was moving profoundly within me. The Lord was encouraging us to return home, leaving Danielle in His capable hands, confirming His protection and love for her, for all of us. “Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18); God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). But what mother would leave her child when her life had been threatened and the man who committed the crime was not captured? If I had not received revelation of God’s love and His direction about returning home, I would not have been able to do what He asked. But I trusted Him. I trusted His Word. I trusted His power. He was mighty and able to fulfill His promise (Romans 4:21). This was an act of faith, an act grounded in knowledge of His love. Being grounded in His love caused me to know with confidence that He heard my prayer about the situation and therefore I had my answer as my present possession: God would protect Danielle’s life, and equip and strengthen her (1 John 5:14,15). Reason to hope based on natural or human hope, would not have grounded me since the man was not found. But I hoped in faith and therefore no unbelief or distrust of the Lord would cause me to waver from this stand that I had taken (Romans 4:18-20).

All of this was conveyed to Danielle. She understood and agreed with some hesitation, however. But we were grounded in knowledge of His love, strengthened and empowered by faith, as we praised God for His mightiness (Romans 4:20). Although leaving her brought me to tears, God’s equipping held us up, giving us the ability to live and act upon faith.

Danielle successfully stayed until her townhouse was sold, which occurred within a few weeks. And I would be remiss if I did not share, that her car she thought was damaged, operated perfectly the morning following the event! Perhaps God had slowed down the vehicle causing the man to abandon it? We believe that is correct!