Pacific Garden Mission Testimony

I’d like to share with you my story of how God has been using losses to draw me closer to Him. If you had asked me last week how things were going, I wouldn’t have anything to complain about—I had just gone home to visit my family, my grandfather had just sold his car to me, and things were going well at work.

However, things began to change when I learned of former President Reagan’s passing. Although I was just a little kid during his presidency, I had gone out to visit his Presidential Library out in California a couple years ago, and had grown to deeply respect and admire this man for his integrity and character. Then, I found out that my former coworkers and close friends were being relocated to Florida, and the move would happen sometime this week! I had spent close to two years with them, so it was very hard to say goodbye and see them leave.

But the really hard loss to take followed on Wednesday—my digital camera was run over by a pickup truck! Even though it was an accident, I had never thought something like this would happen; and I was devastated. Through these losses, God brought me to my breaking point, where I knew I just had to get alone and talk things over with Him. Though it rained all evening, I decided to go outside where I could have some space to myself, since everyone else was indoors. I took my basketball with me, and after shooting some hoops, I stopped and asked, “God, why have you allowed all these things to happen to me? It hurts to lose so much all at the same time.” It was then, while I was sharing my heart with God in the rain, that He revealed the reason to me. He was pruning away the distractions in my life because He wants to have my complete affection—2nd place is not good enough. God took away the people and things I cherished so I would realize how wrong my priorities had been. You see, ever since I had gotten the digital camera, I had spent less and less time with God and more and more time with my technical toys. My camera and my computer had become such a part of me, that in a sense, I had put my relationship with God on the shelf.

Through this experience, one verse of Scripture really hit home with me. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” That’s the answer! Don’t let anything get between you and God! Spend time with God every day in reading the Bible and in prayer. Set your focus on what will last for eternity! I challenge each one of you men here this morning to examine your own lives to see if maybe you have let something hinder your relationship with God. If you realize that your relationship with God is not what it should be, I’d encourage you to stop by the prayer room on your way out so you can have victory in Jesus this very morning!

—Peter Kroon, June 13, 2004