If It Doesn't Move You

 I admit it. I sometimes watch Hallmark movies. I recently watched one where one statement in the movie formed the foundation for this post. The movie centralized around two painters. One a novice and one who lost inspiration. While the second painter had all the technical skills, her paintings were not inspirational. That is when a friend told her, "If it doesn't move you it will not move others." As soon as I heard it I grabbed my journal and wrote that phrase down so I would not forget it. I wanted to write about it later. Here goes. 

That defines exactly why I've written so sporadically as of late. I have not been moved. To put it another way, I have not been inspired. I read scripture. I see truth, but nothing moved me to write. I read other books that are informative, but neither did they move me to write. Then it came from watching a Hallmark movie. I often sat down to write something and just stared at the blank screen. I searched deep in my mind for ideas. I knew I could jot down words on the screen, but I also knew they would be void of passion and inspiration. 

I write for several reasons. One, I write as a ministry. My only desire is to help people. To move them. Sometimes I hope to encourage. Others times, I write to move people to repent. Many times I write to comfort people. I don't write for money or acclaim. I write to be a voice of God to help people in all walks of life in all seasons of life. I also write for God to be glorified and to point people to Him. Finally, I write because I have to write. Messages burn in me that must be expressed. I have to put those thoughts into print. This is something God created me to do. It goes back as far as my third grade. The passion for writing has followed me to now. 

I have been waiting on God to move me so I could write something that moves someone else. I have to feel it deep in my soul with conviction. I have to believe the subject matter deeply. When God touches me, I am able to write prayerfully to touch others. 

When I write to the grieving, I can feel their warms tears cascading down their cheeks and taste the salt from them. I can feel the hole in my heart along with them and know that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that will not go away for awhile. I feel their pain in wishing it were all a dream but reawakening to the pain of their loss. 

When I write to the lost, I feel their tug of war in the soul to swear allegiance to Jesus or Satan. I feel the mental wrestling as they try to decipher truth from deception. I recall my own struggles with those issues as a lost teenager. 

When I write to encourage those in need, I feel their desperation. I feel their hopelessness and anxiety. I also recall all the exuberance from my past when God came through in dramatic fashion for my family. 

I did that today. I recalled a time when we faced a need of two vehicles and God came through. let me tell you about it. We got rid of Brenda's 2003 suburban this morning. 17 years old with 321,000 miles. We donated it to a charity. It has not cranked in months. I stood watching the tow service load it next to Turner. Turner commented, "That car has been a part of my whole life. It is the first car I remember mom driving." Turner was born in 2003. He walked off, but I stood to watch that suburban leave our lives forever. I got lost in my thoughts back to the time we got it. Please allow me to tell you that story. 

When we first came to Paradise, we only owned one vehicle. We were coming out of the most difficult time we ever faced. We lived below the poverty line by government standards. We had to get on food stamps. My ministry could not support our family without God's help. My car broke down. It could not be repaired without a whole new engine. We sold it for $500.  We had Brenda's minivan. Just months into our new ministry, Brenda called me one night during vacation Bible School. She took the boys to Sonic for supper before VBS. She said when she tried to crank it, she heard crackling in the ceiling and the van died. Later, the mechanic said the entire wiring harness shorted out. A church member picked up Brenda and the boys and we drove a borrowed vehicle for a little time. We were told the minivan was not worth repairing what it would cost to replace the wiring. We had no working vehicle. 

When our house sold in Hudson, TX, we decided to use the money for not one, but two vehicles. We bought me a little truck and we found that suburban. Burgundy. It had 23,000 miles on it. We paid cash for my truck and financed the suburban. It took a few years to pay it off. We drove it all over. We used it for ministry. We took family vacations. We drove it to make moves in ministry and residence from West Texas and back again to Weatherford. Finally it died. One day we tried to start it and it would not crank. A mechanic had already told me we needed to start thinking about another vehicle. It sat lifeless in the driveway for close to six months before we decided to donate it to the charity. I felt sentimental about watching that vehicle being towed away. So many memories. Also the memories of how God provided and we bought two vehicles on the same day. 

For a long time we piled the miles on that suburban. For three months we even drove it back and forth to preaching assignments in South Texas when it had over 300,-000 miles on it. It did not let us down.  For three months we made the 14 hour round trip in that suburban. 

As the tow truck driver pulled away, I prayed, "God, you are able to replace it. Without any debt. I ask you to replace that vehicle for my wife." 

I know there are others who have broken down cars and need a miracle. They cannot afford to finance one. They feel stuck. Trapped. Hopeless. I have been there.  I know God is able to provide vehicles. I have seen it first hand more than once. God gave me a vehicle in college through some people at the church I served as youth minister. He did it again through a doctor I never met when I travelled full time. He did it a third time with some friends who gave us a truck with some high mileage on it. He did it a fourth time through a friend of my mother in law. God did it again a fifth time with a lady from a church we served with few members. That car is 18 years old and the vehicle Brenda drives today. If you can believe it God did it a sixth time wit the truck I drive. Two people blessed us with a total of $14,000 so I could purchase a vehicle after I gave my other truck away to a friend who totaled his car. 

God can do it.  He is able. He has done it for others. He did it for me half a dozen times. I trust He will do it again for both you and me. When He does, we must give Him glory. We brag on Him and testify publicly about what He did. I end this praying for you to receive a miracle car. 

I am moved by all this. I pray God use this to move your faith and believe God for the impossible. John 14:14. Matt 19:26. Nothing is impossible with Him.