Communicating To Solve The Problem
by Drenda Keesee
One day as our family was getting ready to go on a road trip, Gary and I had a disagreement. We drove from Ohio to Tennessee, a six-hour drive, and barely said a word. Sound familiar?
Strife is dangerous stuff. Whether it’s between you and your spouse or you and your child, you do not want to let strife remain in your household. We knew it wasn’t good, but neither of us wanted to let our pride down. I kept hearing the voice of the Lord, and I’d say, “No, I’m not going to fix this thing, because then I’d have to talk to him.” It was almost a competition to see who could hold our grudge for the longest!
We drove farther and passed a car accident with children involved. One of their stuffed toys lay on the road. The Lord spoke to me, “Okay, this is your last warning. Are you going to continue this? You know you are opening the door to the enemy.” Gary and I both felt the same conviction, but we pushed past it.
About an hour later, a car pulled out in front of our vehicle and without warning, we were in what could have been a serious car accident. I started yelling the name of Jesus, and God supernaturally protected our entire family. Later, when I was recounting what happened, I said to someone, “I said the name of Jesus probably five or six times,” and then realized that there were five people in the car. The name of Jesus covered every person in the car!
Initially, it looked as though there were going to be serious issues. They told us our son’s spleen might rupture. I was pregnant, and the doctors worried that I might lose the baby. Through all these things we stood on the Word of God, and we came out unharmed, including the young preacher’s son who pulled out in front of us and was in rebellion at that moment. And even in the midst of this difficult situation, through our prayers, standing on God’s Word, and our children’s words to the medical personnel, we had opportunities to minister and impact the little county hospital. The enemy set all of us up and tried to take us out, but the enemy lost the battle!
Nevertheless, there were consequences for our strife and disobedience. Gary and I had a small argument that escalated unchecked. The Bible says that where there is strife, there is confusion and there is every evil work (James 3:16). We were responsible for opening the door to the enemy, but the name of Jesus is more powerful than our circumstances and mistakes, and that is what kept us protected. The battle in your mind can change whether a situation ends in life or death. When you’re put in a situation that tries to speak contrary to God’s Word, what rises out of your spirit in that moment makes the difference.
Situations may catch you off guard, but God is never surprised. He has already made a way for you and orchestrated it in your favor. You have to keep your eyes on the Word of God and keep a guard against strife otherwise when the storms come, you’re going to turn your eyes to the wrong thing.
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
*Excerpt from “The New Vintage Family” by Drenda Keesee
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
