The following text is taken from Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book Um Coracao Inabal-vel by Fiel Editor.
What intrigues or interests you about this title? Have you ever wondered what it means to have an unbreakable heart? Have you ever wondered if your heart is stable? Although their greatest motivation in choosing this book is to discover what an unbreakable heart is, I think other readers are primarily interested in how to experience God’s comfort in the here and now in the midst of the personal storm they are going through. . Maybe you don’t even think you can be comforted? It seems that something like comfort has been a part of your life for so long, that you are waiting to glimpse the face of God somewhere in this dark and gloomy storm. Or maybe you think God is comforting you, but you want to know more about what He can do. So whether you’re looking for a firmer heart, trying to find comfort in God in the midst of a storm, or hoping to spend time with a sister and Psalm 57 (our central text of this book), you’ve come to the right place. . In the pages that follow, we will travel together for this divinely inspired prayer and see how God can comfort us. Let’s even find out why God brings storms our way (Job 37: 9-13). We will also learn what it means to have an unbreakable heart and how a wave of joy and worship can emanate from you in gratitude and praise for God’s unwavering love!
- Like most Americans.
- I spent most of September 11.
- 2001 glued to LA TV.
- I clearly remember how I felt when I saw these towers crumble: confusion.
- Terror and overwhelming sadness.
- I cried a lot.
Later that day, I received a call from a relative informing me that my elderly father, who worked near the World Trade Center, was near the disaster and, although he was not injured, he could not return home, hours passed slowly and many hours. Prayers were said until, finally, towards the end of the day, I received the good news that he had climbed a tugboat in Battery Park and that he would be taken home in the residential area. It was fine, and although I was filled with pain and sadness for the thousands of people who suffered that day, I thought I was safe. ‘Didn’t it really affect me? That’s what I thought. Oh, how wrong I was.
I was wrong because, in response to the losses resulting from the 9/11 tragedy, insurers have changed the way they pay their claims. Overall, it wasn’t a big deal, but for my husband, Phil, and for this it’s because Phil owned and operated a disaster recovery company that handled claims from homeowners who had suffered fires, floods or vandalism. The soul of our business depended on the insurance companies that were seriously affected by the terrorist attacks. In fact, we are still recovering from the tremors of this tragic day.
Because of the way these and other difficulties unfolded, Phil and I didn’t know if we could survive financially day after day. Since we owned the business, if it didn’t work, it meant more than just looking for a business. New job; meant losing everything we had. That was our new reality.
In addition, in 2003, I began to experience strange physical symptoms that were never definitively diagnosed. The tension of the difficulties we encountered had an effect on my body: could we pay our employees?Would we have a house to live in? What would happen to our adult children who worked in the company with us?What would happen to our grandchildren?I was struggling and I felt that a burden, which I couldn’t get rid of, had been put on my back. Doctors had a Latin definition of what he had, but they could not offer any effective help.
As if all this wasn’t enough, in the summer of 2003, our dear Pastor Craig Cabaniss and several much-loved families in our church told us that they believed that God was calling them to found a church in North Dallas, and that they would. Every family in our church has spent months crying through rivers of tears as these precious relationships break.
From 2002 to about March 2005, it seemed that every day he was bringing a new storm front, a blow we didn’t know before. You’re not going to believe it, it was Phil’s daily chorus when he got home from work. “What did they do? That was my usual answer. So when we thought we’d seen a light at the end of the tunnel, we realized that what we’d seen wasn’t help, but a train coming towards us. How long would that last?
Phil and I once sat on a cold bench outside a courtroom. “How did we get here?” Until then, all my experience with the legal system was limited to being called to serve as a judge, but never selected. As I watched, astonished, a group of lawyers standing there discussing our case and laughing with each other, I said, “Well, every time they breathe, we pay hundreds of dollars. Did they defend our best interests as they said? And there would always be the question of how the judge would decide. In a single sentence, it could ruin us.
In addition to the problems with our company, we suffer in other, more personal ways. Some of our dear family and friends died during this period, including a dear great-aunt, who died in March 2003, and a dear uncle, Bob, who died of cancer in May 2004. I know it’s hard to believe, but there wasn’t a month when we didn’t have a funeral or condolences to pay.
At the end of November 2003, what happened to me was, in a way, the deepest wound of all, I had gone home between cases of advice to eat something, when I heard, with shock and horror, a message of voice from the mother. of my dear friend, Julie:? Oh, Elyse?” she said, crying. Richard [Julie’s son] passed away. He had a car accident last night. What? I thought, what did I just hear?And then, in my heart, I felt a mortal coldness that turned into anger. Wasn’t it too heavy of you?I understand, Lord, why does the Lord whip me, but this?Haven’t you crossed the line before?
In the days that followed, when I met Julie to help organize the funeral and welcome her family to my home, several questions about God’s supreme goodness filled my heart and mind. For the first time in many years, I began to question God. he questioned his character, why would he do that to her? How does the question arise of what he says about himself? Does he like it? Is he merciful? I felt like I was sinking headfirst into a pit of despair and discouragement.
What I just wrote may have surprised you; I know that Christians should not have these questions; we must be strong and full of faith. However, this is not the reality I see in the lives of brothers and sisters in the scriptures, and it is not the experience of our brothers and sisters here; was for me the darkest moment of the dark night of my soul.
During these difficult years, the Lord gently brought me Psalm 57 by preaching to one of our church leaders, Steve Shank. Then, on my birthday in early November 2003, in his kindness, God gave me a gift: he recorded this psalm in my head.
Since Phil and I didn’t know how to pray, we spent a lot of time in the Psalms. Psalm 57 spoke to me deeply. One verse in particular was significant: “My heart is firm, O God, my heart is firm; Will I sing and sing praises?”That same birthday, a dear friend offered me a beautiful chain with a silver pendant in the form of My verse was written on it: “My heart is firm, O God. “The most surprising thing about my friend’s gift was that she didn’t know that God was already speaking to me through this verse. An unwavering heart?My heart was anything but unwavering.
It is a book that speaks of what I have learned and continues to learn about the Lord and me through this specific test. God gave Phil and my mercy during these years. He used our suffering to reveal to us a new understanding of him, his great goodness, and our great need for a Savior. These lessons have been invaluable to us. We’re grateful to you. He has also used our suffering in the lives of others when they pray and suffer with us. We come to love our church and our friends more intensely than ever before.
As I write about our suffering, I want to clarify a reality: I know that what we are going through is nothing compared to what others experience on a daily basis. Our ordeal was shaped for us by a wise God who knew exactly what kind of suffering. The trials we have endured have been created to achieve the idolatry, selfishness, and absolute disbelief that God wants to cleanse from our lives. They are also designed to make us love Jesus Christ more and more, and sometimes in no way are they a discipline, but they are part of God’s mysterious plan for their own glory. Therefore, I ask you, as I read this book, not to compare my suffering to yours, nor to imagine how you would endure what I have been through or vice versa. . Just recognize that God brings to each of us what will best glorify you.
What intrigues you or are you interested in this title?Have you ever wondered what it means to have an unwavering heart?Have you ever wondered if your heart is stable?Even if your greatest motivation in choosing this book is to discover what an unwavering heart is, I think other readers are primarily interested in how to experience God’s comfort, here and now, in the midst of the personal storm they are going through. Maybe you don’t even think you can be comforted. It seems that it has been so long since something like comfort is part of your life, that you hope to see the face of God somewhere in this dark and dreary storm.
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