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Gary Sham Testimony

When I really take time to meditate and reflect, God has blessed me in so many ways – my physical life and well being, my natural and church family, my friends, my community, my career, and my material possessions – through triumphs as well as trials.  When I find that I am obediently responding to His call and will for me, I encounter a supernatural peace that can only be provided from the Holy Spirit.  God challenges me in many ways, usually when I don’t realize it – the key for me is how to respond to those challenges in such a way that honors Him, and obeys Him.

 

God is in control, and has ways (obvious and subtle) to constantly remind us of His sovereignty, provision, and grace.  When we think we’ve got everything under control, we tend to lose our focus on depending on God and coming to God.  Without exception, God puts circumstances in our path to bring us back to Him; it’s up to us to follow that path and respond to the Holy Spirit’s calling.  God is patient, and loves us enough to extend grace to us when we stray from our responsibility to submit to His direction.

 

God is also showing me that His plans for our service will evolve and change over time; He may be calling us to serve in one capacity at one stage in our lives, but will be calling us to serve in another at a different stage – even if in our own limited minds we don’t see it.  We need to be receptive and obedient to that change in calling, as God so wills.

 

First, I praise God for giving me life, so that I can serve Him in ways that will glorify and grow His Kingdom.  I praise Him for blessing me and allowing me to live in a country that supports religious and political freedom, and in a city that has much to offer for our earthly comfort.  I praise Him for giving me opportunities and the physical and mental capacity to be His servant within my family and home, my church, my community, and my workplace.  Lastly, I praise Him for my nuclear, extended, and church family, which enables my earthly life and spiritual life to be so blessed.

 

Certainly the Holy Spirit is influential in my life; the key is to let His influence take priority over other worldly influences ☺.  My wife is a positive influence on me; while I understand and acknowledge my role in the family (Eph 5:21-33), I treasure and value her wisdom and opinions and advice, even though I don’t always verbalize it.  While there are many moments that had a profound impact on my life and my spiritual walk, several moments immediately come to mind:

 

1) When my daughters were born (Kelsey in 1996, Megan in 1999), I came to realize how precious is the gift of life, and the importance of my role as a father; their coming into my life totally changed my perspective on life’s priorities.  God has now entrusted me with not only a wife to care for, but also children – two of the greatest responsibilities that God can bestow upon a man is that of a husband and of a father.

2) When I had my thymoma surgery back in 2003, I had NO control over the outcome.  For those who know me well, my comfort zone includes having methodical planning and detailed steps, and knowing how the end result will be achieved.  I get quite anxious and sometimes frustrated if I cannot have such things laid out.  This event taught me that I must totally rely on God’s provision and protection, and not solely on my own talents and gifts.

3) Lastly, when my father passed away in 2008 from cancer, I came to truly realize and appreciate the blessings of having a caring church family.  My natural and nuclear family were certainly there to comfort, assist, and provide, but the outpouring of my church family support was beyond my comprehension.  Words cannot express the genuine love, concern, and prayer that I and my family felt at that time; God provides so much to me, even though I sometimes take those blessings for granted.  I need to always be mindful of and thankful for what God provides.