CURRENT THEME: BREAK OUT AND LIVE! (For feedback or suggestions of themes in the current series, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
By Benescke Janse van Rensburg
Have you ever reached a point in your life where you stood with your back against the wall, trusting in God alone for a breakthrough? Here is a testimony by singer and radio personality, Rouchelle Liedemann, of what God did for her and her husband, Jamie:
Rouchelle: "Tears flowed down my cheeks where I stood in our kitchen. A sense of helplessness threatened to overwhelm me. How could our lives have changed so drastically in such a short time? And where would our next meal come from?
Months earlier we received the shocking news one morning that my husband, Jamie's employer had been murdered. Someone pushed him from a building in Claremont. During that time we maintained a comfortable lifestyle. We owned a nice home, two vehicles and regularly went on holidays. I did not have to work because we did not have a day's stress about our finances. The youngest of our three children was three months old. A month after Jamie's employer died, he was retrenched due to restructuring in the business. Suddenly we did not have an income any longer. We were shocked.
Jamie immediately began applying for jobs, but without success. Our savings started to run out. The morning I stood in the kitchen, we had R20 in the house. We had to decide whether to buy electricity or bread. My heart ached to see how bad my husband felt for not being able to provide for us. I prayed to God and begged Him for a breakthrough. Only He could provide one.
There was a sudden knock at the door. When I opened the front door, one of our church members stood on our porch with several bags of groceries in her hands. God had led her to buy it for us. The words of Psalm 37:25 came to mind: "I was young and I am old, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. . . “I knew it was God that was providing for us.
In those dark financial months, our family realized that God made us humble and dependent on Him. Yet He never abandoned us. Amid the difficult time I started writing songs for a new album. In my heart I felt led to write in faith about a new beginning - although we have not experience it yet. It was as if thinking and speaking about our breakthrough spurred faith in our hearts to trust God even more.
It was only when we started thanking God in faith for our breakthrough that is on its way that we started to experience God’s hand in our lives. Jamie got a good job, my career boomed and our financial position drastically improved. Today I still stand in awe of what God can and wants to do once we have faith in Him. All honour and glory goes to Him.
Rouchelle is right. God is more interested in our character than our comfort . When we start praising Him amidst our storms, He demonstrates His power in a much greater way. In Hebrews 11:1 we read: "To believe is to be sure of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ." And in Philippians 4:6-7 we read: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Let's start praising God amidst our storms. The dark clouds may just clear up a lot faster than you thought, with the sun breaking through. God bless.
Father God, thank you for never abandoning me. Help me to continue praising you amidst the darkest valley with the knowledge that you are working behind the scenes to bring my breakthrough. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
- See a photo of Rouchelle and her family on www.benescke.co.za or social networking, Fbook’s Story of Hope page.
- Listen to some of Rouchelle’s music: http://www.rouchelleliedemann.com/