Have You Ever Had God Wrap His Arms Around You ?
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Into His Presence

  • Man, nothing ever goes right for me.
  • Why me? I haven't done anything wrong.
  • Why does all the bad stuff happen to me? I'm a Christian.

    • Have you ever heard yourself saying these words? Have you walked away from God because of some event that took place in your life. So many people today do that very thing. They stop trusting Him because of the loss of a loved one, financial problems, divorce, sickness. You name it. It has been used for an excuse to walk away from God. But are these reasons to turn away from Him or turn to Him.
     
       Like so many others I have asked those questions. As you read my story I pray that you will find some common ground between the situation that you may be facing and the trials that I have already faced. My decision was to turn to Him. The result of that decision turned out to be one of the greatest blessings that I could have ever imagined.
     

      In July of 1998 I took a job in Tulsa Ok. and uprooted my family. This was supposed to be a new start, a new chance for a better life and more financial freedom for my family. Little did I know that it was the first of several events that would change my life forever.
     
     I didn't have much time to find a place for my family to live and with 3 children and a wife there werent many places available on short notice. We did however find a place and with a few problems out of the way we settled in. Because there werent many places to choose from at that time, we ended up in a part of town that was a little rough. Several months after we moved in a woman showed up at the bus stop where my kids were waiting to go to school. She was upset about some incident that had happened between her kids and mine. Instead of coming to me she threatened my kids. I found out about it and reported it to the police. The next day I walked my boys to the bus stop to make sure everything would be ok. The woman showed up again and this time with her boyfriend. He definitely had an agenda. He was there for only one reason and that reason was to make sure that I regretted calling the police. He started threatening me and making false accusations about my children. He was trying anything to get me into a fight. I made the decision to walk away. The children had already boarded the bus and were gone, so I turned toward our apartment and headed back. This man followed me, badgering me all the way. Finally he decided to get in front of me and stop me. After a few words were spoken he physically attacked me.  I tried to defend myself, but he was much faster and got the upper hand. I managed to pull away bleeding and battered. I made it back to my apartment where I called 911. I also called my former wife, who promptly came and took me to a clinic to get stitches.  Because of the nature of the beating that I had taken the doctors decided to take x-rays of my brain to make sure there was no bruising or any other damage. What they discovered was a time bomb that had been ticking away for most of my life. In the center of my brain was a cyst, a tumor. It was recommended that I see a neurosurgeon. I did see this surgeon and was told that the location of this thing was very bad and could block off the flow of brain fluid. This would cause the brain to swell, severe headaches and eventually death. He said it had to come out. He also explained the procedure to me and said that it was tricky and could very well be fatal. I was devastated. Up to this point I believed that I was not afraid of death. But this wasnt me that I was scared for. It was my kids. You see, for many generations in my family the men had been torn from the lives of their children. My father died when I was 3, his when he was 12 and so on. I had grown up believing that this generational curse had been broken and that I had the promise to see my children grow up.  Now I was looking at death and just couldnt handle the idea of my children growing up the way that I did, without a father. That Sunday I went to church not knowing what was going to happen and what I was going to do.  One of the elders in the church decided to get a group together that would pray for me for 7 weeks. At the end of 7 weeks I would get a second scan.

                For 7 weeks I studied the Bible, prayed, made positive confession in my life and my faith grew. My faith grew more in that 7 weeks than it had in the last 17 years. At the end of those seven weeks I went back in for that second scan and when it was finished the doctor walked out and told me that the cyst was still there. Again he told me that it really needed to come out. But you know, my faith had become so strong that I wasnt moved. I returned home and instead of breaking down and crying I went into my office and called the elder from the church. I told him what had happened and then listened to his counsel that I should go ahead and have the surgery. I got off the phone and began to pray. I didn't want to have surgery. I asked God what was I suppose to do. I didnt want to go under that knife. I wanted to be healed. Suddenly I realized that I had been praying all that time for healing because I was in fear. I repented and then asked God what I needed to do. It was then that God revealed himself to me in a way that cannot be described fully.  I felt Gods presence all around me. It was thick like water. Then I felt him wrap his arms around me and love me. Oh how wonderful, to be loved like this. It was a complete love, not lacking in anything. I felt completely secure. Then he spoke to me. It was clear. He said Michael, dont you know that I love you. Im not done with you yet. I have plans for you. He told me to have the surgery. He said that he would be holding my hand and that he would be guiding the surgeon. He told me that I would be just fine. He told me to trust him and for the first time in my life I completely gave it to him, my trust. I came through the surgery with flying colors. That day was in May of 1999. Many things have happened since that day.  I have been healed of diabetes, and I have gone through a divorce. The devil has continually tried to get rid of me. What you need to see is this. I didnt run away. I didnt turn away from Him. Instead I turned to Him. I put my trust in Him and He was faithful to keep His promises. I am still serving Him. I will not turn away. My decision is to run to Him and he has rewarded me for that. It was worth all the pain to keep my eyes on Him, because He gave me the strength to continue to live.

    Today I am slowly rebuilding my life with His help.  Once again I have a promise that I will again marry and it will be the relationship that I so long to have, a wife that loves God first and through that love will love me. My heart is filled with joy and excitement as I dream of that day, but no matter what I will not turn away from God. 

    I hope that you take some inspiration from this story. Many people in this life are faced with their own crises. Many run to drugs and alcohol. Many just choose to hide. I praise God that I chose to run to him. He is not only the father that I lost, but also much, much more. He is my Lord. He is everything. He meets my every need. He is love.

    There is much more that I could say. I hope you choose to run to him. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I love to share the relationship that I have with Jesus. Before you go, I have to ask you a question. If you were to die right now, do you know where you would go? If you dont know or you arent sure, then please dont leave this site with out settling this question. The solution is simple. God has a plan for your life and He loves you very much. If you want to settle this question once and for all and secure your future with Jesus then please click Here

    Today life is very different, living in victory.  The Rest Of The Story