Hi, I’m Lindy Ann Hopley, founder of Beautiful Witness Ministries and welcome to God Today. I want to tell you a little bit of my story, how God came and took someone who was incredibly broken and made something new. He doesn’t say for nothing that you are born again into the Kingdom and family of God because He’s able to take you out of the kingdom of darkness and put you into the Kingdom of light. I hope that my testimony and story encourages you today.
I grew up in a home incredibly broken behind the scenes, but incredibly fancy in front of everyone else. We drove to school in a Porsche. I was a star student. I did every sport imaginable and succeeded in everything. And we were kind of like those, the Jones’s family, everybody thought that, you know, we had it all, we even had weightings in our own garden.
But the reality was that my father, for instance, was a very broken man. Never did he tell me that he loves me or that he thinks I’m beautiful. So what happened to me is I started looking for love in all the wrong places. Maybe some of you can relate to this. I was trying to find any way in any one that would just say, you’re beautiful. So I went into such a performance mode trying to seek that affirmation from my dad in someone else.
But you know what? There’s one Father, He’s in heaven. His name is Abba Father, by which we can cry out. What was so insane is even though I ran away from Him completely because as a young girl, as I was on this journey to find love, looking forward in all the wrong places. It got me into so much trouble that I eventually ran away from God completely, like Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden, feeling ashamed of the life that has lived.
But you know, what’s incredible about God is that even when we run away, He comes running towards us. He’s the stalker of all stalkers. And He’s not planning on giving up on you or me. I’m so grateful. Out of that place I got to experience a King that is relentlessly pursuing His children. I was in the clubs drinking. I was partying every single night. I was experimenting with drugs. I was sleeping around. I was trying to fill this empty void that only He could fill. One day, I’ll never forget it, I was listening to this music and the words said, “I’m throwing pebbles at your window lady. I’m knocking at your door. Pretty thing you can and be sure of beauty sleep can do no more.” Okay. This is who can say that they’ve been seeking to save you my love, who can say that they would carry your blame in your place. I’m the only one who will ever qualify, who will rise to the, who is willing to die. My love, I need you to believe.”
I’m there on the carpet, just listening to this music and at first I thought it was some romantic music that some guy’s singing to his girlfriend or to his wife. But then the Lord spoke to and He said, “No, Lindy Ann, I’m singing this over you. This is from the Song of Songs.” As I realized this, and those words said, “My love will you marry me?”. A man in a white robe stepped into my room and He stood right in front of me. It was the person of Jesus Christ. In that moment, I stood face to face with the Lover of my soul, the Love that I had been looking for my entire life. And He said,” Lindy Ann, and as he stretched out His hand with a ring in it, He said, will you marry me?” And He invited me into an eternal covenant with Him as His bride. I said, “Yes” and I was never, ever the same again.
I want to encourage you today. The love that you are looking for, the peace that you are looking for, the wisdom, the counsel…all of it is found in Jesus Christ. All you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord and be saved and that’s you. If you know, Jesus has been knocking on your heart, but you haven’t let Him in yet. Now is your time. This is your day of salvation. I want to pray for you quickly. Just put your hands out and repeat this prayer after me say, “Father, thank You for sending Jesus. I believe that He is God in the flesh that died on the cross for both sin and sickness. I say yes to that relationship. I say yes to Jesus as my Lord and Savior, wash me clean, make me whole, touch me. Never the same again in Jesus’ name.
I want to just welcome you to the family of God. This is your day of salvation and all of Heaven is celebrating for you. I hope today’s message inspired you to know that if God can use me, he can use you. God bless you.