Beginnings

If you're joining from Proverbs 31 Ministries Daily Devotion, welcome! I asked Javier some questions and am blown away by his answers. I'm inspired to continue planting seeds...hope you are too!!

Journeys cannot always be measured in physical distance. ~Shawn McDonald

Faith is not merely a journey for the feet, but it is a journey for the heart. ~AW Tozer

{Javier and his beautiful wife, Nicole}

Q. Growing up, did you hear about the Lord in your home?
A. I grew up in Costa Rica, where near 100% of the population is Catholic. So, yes, I grew up hearing about the Lord. The difference was that I learned more about traditions and rituals about the church than about God's love for me.

Q. How many people had an impact on you coming to know Christ?
A. Hard to tell, but I am sure there were several. Like I wrote to you in that email, I truly felt God was planting seeds in my life. There were key people that were placed there for a reason. That reason was to learn about our loving God who has known me by name since before I was born.

Q. What things happened along the way that turned your heart to the Lord?
A. I feel that my story is one of a long courtship. God loved me so much and never gave up on me. I knew about Him since I was little, but I didn't know He loved ME this much until my late 20s. He has been there with me along some hard parts of my life when I really doubted Him.

Q.Would you mind sharing about your moment of salvation?
A. I knew about God, but going to church meant standing when everyone else stood, kneeling when everyone else did, and trying to make it through the sermon. I really did not enjoy going. That continued and worsened when I was older and had the choice to attend. College life was hard as I felt so separated from God; I deeply felt sad and empty. I joined a fraternity and that just made me feel worse as we spent a lot of time partying.

I was accepted to Physician Assistant school at a small christian university in 2000 and it was there were I was surrounded even more by God. Our class would pray every day and [I thought] that it was so weird.

Things didn't change much after grad school. [Though] I made some good friends that helped me along my path to becoming a christian.

I started going to a small church with a friend. I could not believe the things Pastor Craig said. It was so apparent then that it wasn't about how good I had been or will be. It wasn't about good deeds or how much money I gave. God loves me for who I am and doesn't care about my past. ALL my sins were forgiven when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay for my sins--when what I really deserved was definitely not salvation.

This was earth shattering to me. I'd never heard of these things; that the King of all kings would send His only Son to die for ME and forgive all my sins. I still love thinking about that.

A few weeks later Pastor Craig told me how to accept Christ; I didn't know how. There was no application to fill out. He said to ask God to restore my heart, so that is exactly what I did. I did not have a moment where I spoke to God. My [salvation] was at that sincere moment when I told God I knew I was broken and needed Him to restore my heart. If it was left up to me, I knew I couldn't change.

I almost feel as if God was with me all those years, courting me, but didn't make me His bride until I was ready to accept Him.

Q. Any advice/wisdom for those praying for someone to come to know Christ?
A. When people approached me about God I automatically wanted to run the opposite way. I probably learned more about God by watching how He changed friends' lives. Just being around them and them being casual about it worked for me. I found myself asking questions when I was ready. They waited patiently to share the Good News with me rather than being aggressive. My advice would be to love on your friends that don't know Christ and be patient to share the Gospel. They will eventually want to learn all about His love for us.

Thank you Javier! I really appreciate you sharing your testimony! Especially the part of how God courted you with His love.

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