A Reversal of Destiny
To say the past two years (2012-2014) were challenging would
be an understatement. Actually they were the two most difficult years of my
entire life and ministry journey. It started when we had settled into a new
ministry position and suddenly found ourselves without our jobs. On the heels of
this was the loss of my colleague and Dena’s boss and his wife and son in a
tragic accident on Highway 63. Jobless and grieving we had no help available to
deal with our losses, other than some words of encouragement from a couple of
people at the District office, I was left to try and help Dena get through all
of this in the midst of my own emotional pain which was as excruciating as
physical pain. My Spiritual health and emotional wellness was put to the test. I
would like to say it brought out the best in me but it didn’t, it brought out
the worst that was in me and I had to deal with it in order to recover and
grow. It was a very painful journey.
In July of 2014 I was given the opportunity to meditate and
reflect without distraction, this was the beginning of a series of events that
led to my “reversal of destiny”, a term I picked up from Beth Moore’s study on
the book of Esther. I was asked to join
a friend in the preview of this study that she was planning on sharing in her
ladies Bible study group. Dena did the study and it became very precious to us
and a means of spiritual growth. Actually the key players in our “reversal of
destiny” include Beth Moore, Charles Stanley and our friend Tammy.
One evening in Beaumont, Alberta the presence of the Lord was
very real and the Holy Spirit was at work in a special way. I decided to take
my daily prayer walk. I walked to the mail and after picking up the mail, I was
impressed to walk the trail in a reverse direction. While doing the prayer
walk, I had a strong impression that I was beginning to walk in a reversal of
destiny! It was an amazing evening of ministry by the Holy Spirit.
I was reading Charles Stanley’s book, The Ultimate
Conversation, at the time and it spoke directly into my life during this time in
my life. ADONIA, became a personal revelation to me as my friend was led to
pray over me. The Lord became very real to me as my Guide, Provider and
Protector. All three were demonstrated to us during a weekend ministry at Fort
McMurray in August 2014 and since.
During this season my passion for ministry was renewed from
prayer, Bible study and engaging in conversation with my friend about my early
years in ministry and God’s faithfulness especially during my time in Norris Arm South and my
recollections of my connection with Pastor Hubert Holloway and the prayer times
at Camp Emmanuel
We had thought maybe our ministry journey would bring us
back to Alberta. It seemed to be our destiny. Although opportunities for
private practise became available and a pilot project to work alongside Pastor
Larry Lindoff to provide counselling ministry at Evangel was successful, we
became restless and returned to Woodstock in October to wait further direction.
On November 22, 2014 Dena and I experienced a spiritual breakthrough, a release
from oppression that had bothered us for two years. It became clear we would
have to take a step of faith and go forward in our destiny. Our journey would
take us back to our home province
A job opportunity opened for me in December and on the 14th
day of the month of January which I will call my month of Adar, (the meaning of
this becomes clear in the conclusion of this article) I started my new position
as an EAP Counsellor taking up three days of the week. This leaves me with the
remainder of the week for private practice in Christian Counselling and Mental
Health First Aid (MHFA) teaching. My weekends are free for ministry
opportunities in local churches. One
weekend is already booked. Now all that is needed is office space for C4 Professional
Services.
This week I had coffee with my former Assistant Pastor that
started his ministerial career with me in Grand Falls in 1989. It is
interesting to note that when He resigned to move to Mt. Pearl as an Assistant
Pastor, I resigned my position to begin a career track towards counselling.
Twenty six years later I have come to Mt. Pearl as a Professional Counsellor.
Paul is the lead pastor at the city church we plan on attending. Another
Assistant Pastor who moved to a staff position in St. John’s when I resigned
and moved to the Maritime District is now Lead Pastor in another city Church.
So it is great to have the opportunity to re- connected with my former
Assistant Pastors Paul and Bruce.
So going back to my meeting over coffee - during our discussion
Paul said he knew of an ideal location for me to set up my counselling
practice. He gave me a tour and it is unbelievably ideal. I am now waiting
final approval which seems inevitable. So it is very likely that Pastor’s Inn
Ministries/C4 Professional Services will soon be operating out of Mount Pearl.
Ps.32:8 was a promise I received in 2002 when I left Newfoundland.
I
will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
The conclusion of the matter is summed up from page 208 of
the study guide on the Book of Esther by Beth Moore from which I will quote.
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance
and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord
who has counseled me;
“Here the lot or portion is an
allusion to the way life has worked out;
the psalmist is thinking of all the signs of God’s provision which have marked
his pilgrimage…..the word had within it the suggestions of destiny.”
In our words, “ Lord in all the
chaos and crisis, all the threat and doubts You caused my life to work out.
Instead of me falling apart, the lines of my life have fallen together. Truly,
I can say that You have given me a delightful inheritance.”
The day we wake up to the goodness of our God and the crushing defeat of
the enemy! The day will be a day of joy and feasting…. Esther 9: 19
“…celebrate
the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day [k]of the same
month, annually, 22 because on those
days the Jews [l]rid
themselves of their enemies, and it
was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from
mourning into a [m]holiday; that
they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of
food to one another and gifts to the poor.
The Journey over the past two years as I said earlier hasn’t
been easy but needful it seems in the process of my spiritual and emotional
well- being. Granting forgiveness,
confession and asking forgiveness are never easy and in some situations there
may be rejection but it is the right thing to do because it is essential for
spiritual growth to take place.
God is faithful but we are required to be obedient to His
word before we can experience a reversal of destiny.
Until next time
Blessings!
Pastor Harold
Resources: The Ultimate Conversation by Charles Stanley.
Esther, It’s Tough Being A Woman
by Beth Moore
Bible, The New American Standard Version.
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