We are now entering part three of my journey thus far which means we are in the decades that most everyone remembers. In the 80’s and 90’s I continued to see God provide the places, people and passages that He ordained for me. Here are a few of those highlights:

Places – Jene & I had a unique opportunity to go on a mission trip in 1980 that took us to Zaire, Africa along with time in Romania, East & West Germany (before the Berlin well came down) and Zurich, Switzerland. It was a great opportunity to see different parts of the world where God was at work. We assessed and concluded God was not leading us to Africa but we committed ourselves to remain available to Him. In 1990, I had the opportunity to take two guys with me to visit Navigator ministries in Japan and Taiwan. Again, God used it to challenge me to see that He came for “the world” and not just my little corner of it. He used the mission trips and our continued interest to allow us to reach out and befriend several international students at Drake University during the 90’s. It was a perfect ministry outreach for us as a family because international students often miss their siblings and nieces/nephews and are interested in relating with an American family.

We saw our two children born in 1983 and 1986. We found ourselves challenged by our new roles as parents and thankful that Jene was able to stay home full time with the kids from 1983 thru 1993. She later began working part time in the mid 90’while the kids were in school. This decision challenged us financially at times but it is a decision that we do not regret.

1994 was a difficult year. While involved in a very demanding project at work, I experienced for the first time a case of clinical depression. It was physically, emotionally and spiritually draining for me and Jene. God used this to force me to take a more holistic view of my mental health. Like the Psalmist, I had to address my own wrong dehabilitating self talk. During minor set backs in this area, God has helped me to recognize the symptoms and respond quickly when I have sensed the pending gloom of depression on the horizon.

I was fortunate to be able to work in multiple roles for a stable company for 19 years before realizing that I was going to be downsized in 1998. God used it and subsequent job changes to challenge my ability to adapt to change and reexamine His view of work.

People – God used Dick and Lola along with a strong bunch of peers before bringing Chuck Strittmatter into my life in 1985. “Stritt” was a spiritual father for me similar to what we read in 1 Corinthian 4:15. I had several very good teachers along the way but “Stritt” really cared for my soul as a father. Jene & I had the privilege of serving with Chuck and his wife Nancy as Associate Staff with the Navigators from the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s.

God was faithful in providing people to challenge me in my walk with God. He also allowed me to influence a few people as well. There was my brother, Tony who came to Christ in the early 80’s and my friend Al who came to Christ as we worked through an evangelistic John study together. There were young singles like Frank, Carol and Tracy whom God allowed us to influence as they lived in our home at different points of time.

As noted before, there were also several international students that we interacted with on a regular basis. One family that has been special to us is the Machodos from Venezuela. It started with our meeting Mercedes and then her younger sister, Julia. That was followed by meeting their parents. Then, we got a call from Julia who said she was getting married and asked if we would help them get settled in Ames. Little did we know that Julia and her husband Marco would spend their first two weeks of married life in our basement. They have enriched our lives!

It was in the early 80’s when we first started coming to Willow Creek Baptist Church (a.k.a. Airport Baptist at the time). We have seen God faithfully provide pastors and individuals that have become trusted friends and co-laborers as we have laughed, cried and supported one another. I am not sure what we would have done without such a strong church family these past 25+ years. God is good!

Passages – Here are a few of the most impactful passages God used during these times:
When Beth was born, we asked God to help her learn to “abide in Him” as we see in John 15:4-5. Later, when Kyle was born, we began to pray that God would instill Psalm 15:1-2 into his life. That he would become “a man who walks with integrity, works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart.” We continue to pray for God to work out these verses in their lives as young adults.

God used Isaiah 49:6 in 1991 to show me that He has the world on His heart when he described the Messiah who would come to be the “light of the nations.”

2 Timothy 1:7 in the Living has been special because God has used it often to help us to “not be afraid of people…but to love them and enjoy being with them.” He regularly uses it to give us confidence and to keep us from viewing people as “projects.”

During my period of depression, I found the Psalms to be the only place I could go where I felt emotionally connected with God. He used other familiar passages like James 1:5, Philippians 4:6-7 and Matthew 6:34 to help me bring my anxieties to Him.

How About You? Are you thinking about your circuitous journey? Where are the “places” God has taken you? Who are the people He has used to influence you? What are the passages He is drilling into your life to help you live biblically?

Part 1, 2, 4

I am keenly aware that many of you do not have any recollection of the 70s. In fact, the 70s may have passed by before you were even a gleam in your parents’ eyes. For me, it was a significant decade filled with people, new places, and passages. Like you, I can see how He used these resources to lead and direct during my early journey. Here is a brief visual of this decade:

People – I am eternally grateful for God’s provision of significant people in my life during this decade when He…

• Used two couples in my hometown who helped me begin studying the scriptures, pray and share my testimony.
• Used three young guys from the Navigators (Thom, Tom, & Dan) during my college years to further disciple me by helping me establish important spiritual disciplines and allow Christ to impact my decisions and character.
• Bonded me with other young men (AW, Clive) who were being discipled by the more mature guys.
• Allowed me to influence a few guys toward a personal relationship with Christ (Dave, Keith, Henry, Ron) while in college.
• Introduced me to Dick & Lola when I moved to Des Moines who ministered to college graduates who were establishing themselves in the community.
• Allowed me to co-labor with guys like Byron, Merlin, Terry, Ron and Gary who challenged me to continue to walk with God and we learned together how to properly relate with single Christian women.
• Led me to my wife, Jene, as we participated in bible studies together. God has continued to use her in my life for the past 30+ years.

Places – (events, circumstances & experiences, etc.) During this decade I saw God…

• Sustain and lead me through high school, Parkland Community College & the University of IL.
• Provide bible studies, Navigator summer training programs and a summer in Zambia & Kenya, Africa to help me make significant commitments around His Lordship, the Great Commission and the authority and sufficiency of God’s word.
• Steadily and graciously draw my mother into a personal relationship with Himself in her 30s
• Use a variety of work experiences to provide my financial needs apart from my parents and to challenge my work ethic as I worked as an X-Ray tech, a mall Shoe salesman, a teaching associate in the Des Moines schools system before starting to work for Principal Financial Group as an underwriter.
• Lead me Jene whom I have had the privilege of being married to since 1979.

Passages – (commandments, precepts, statutes, testimonies & promises, etc.) During this decade God used the following key passages to reveal Himself and to lead me through my life stages of the 70s:

• Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 – In July 1973 God used this verse to challenge me to trust Him for the “right time and procedure” for seeking a wife and continued to use it as I faced other periods of “firsts.”
• Luke 6:46 – In 1973 I was challenged by Christ’s Lordship. The passage has often reminded me that lordship to Christ is “one big yes followed by a lot of uh huhs.” To claim Him as Lord is to do what He says. It was during this decade that I committed myself to Christ’s Great Commission found in Matthew 28:28-30.
• Deuteronomy 32:46-47 – This grabbed my heart in 1975 as I wrestled with the authority and sufficiency of God’s word… like Israel, He was teaching me that “it is not an idle word” and that it is to be “my life”. He then began using 2 Timothy 2:15 to encourage me to be diligent in order to become a skilled workman who would handle accurately the word of truth.
• Acts 17:25-27 – While in Zambia in 1976, God used this passage to convince me of His sovereignty in “appointing the times and boundaries of my habitation… so that I (and those around me) might know God.”
• Ephesians 4:15 – In 1979, this became the key operational verse for Jene & I as we married because it says we are to “speak truth in love while growing up in Christ who is our Head.” It has served us well over these past 30 years.

Part 1, 3, 4

This series of Tuesday posts are from Roy Knicley.

Pastor Mike’s June 6 message and the approaching date of June 15 have made me think about the “circuitous journey” God took me on to bring me to Christ. I have a new appreciation for the time period in which Israel wondered in the wilderness. This June 15 marks the 40th year since I asked Christ into my life as a teenager.

In this first part, I would like to share my journey in coming to Christ. In the next three parts, I plan to share some of the people, places and passages God has used during these last four decades.

People – God used people to bring me to Himself. I was born to young teen age parents who did not actively walk with God at the time but they respected Him. I was blessed to have grandparents and other extended family that gave me a sense of security and identity in my early years. It was not until I was six years old that I remember Ernie & Helen who took me to a small rural church where I heard about God and enjoyed being with God’s people.  In subsequent years, He used Sunday school and VBS teachers along with camp counselors to help create a favorable view of Himself and His people. Then, He used three teen age friends to help me answer some of my questions and peek my interest in the gospel.

Places – I remember looking at a picture of the crucifixion in a large coffee sized bible as a 4th grader and saying out loud, “Jesus, why did you do that? You didn’t have to worry about where you would go after you die like I have to.” By the time I entered my sophomore year of high school, I had changed schools 14 times and remember periods of acute loneliness and insecurity. God used my three teenage friends to invite me to a Campus Crusade Conference where I found answers to my questions and doubts about who Jesus is and who I am.

Passages – In the process of coming to Christ…God used the illustration and truth of Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (fellowship) with him, and he with me.” I had a God consciousness for many years but I didn’t know that I could invite Him in to take over my life until that day. He then used John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.” to help confirm and seal that decision.

Like many of you, I am thankful for the journey took me on for 16 years to bring me to Himself. Next week, I plan to share more on the places, people and passages He has used since I started this journey 40 years ago.

Part 2, 3, 4