My library shelves are filled with a wealth of wisdom and knowledge from many gifted authors, from all centuries and decades. They hold many thoughts that stimulate my thinking and open up my mind to the lessons that God is revealing to me in His Word. And if you have followed Walk With God Ministries for any length of time, you know that I do not recommend books as a general rule. I leave that up to your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit and where He is leading and guiding you with respect to the Word. But this morning I want to make an exception to that rule for many reasons, not least of which is that it is a very special part of my life. My dear and precious sister in the Lord, Catia Baker, has allowed the Lord to open up her heart to share a tragedy in her life that He has turned into a blessing… for many.
In the process she has shared with all of us the true heart of God in our difficult and desperate times in her book Losing to Win. In this most personal part of her life she shares the wonderful miracle God gave to her in my dearest brother in the Lord, my mentor and my best friend, David Baker.
I have had one of the greatest blessings in my life to be a personal witness to the events that set this beautiful miracle and relationship in place and to witness over a very short time the passing of God’s mantle from one of children to another. I saw the far-reaching arm of God cross the boundaries of space and time to not only heal a man’s heart but to forge a new ministry that is touching and nourishing the hearts of the people in Brazil.
Diane and I were blessed to have the unselfish love and blessing of David and his wife Linda many years ago in California as they poured not only the Word of God into us but their undying love. We spent many a night well into the early hours of the morning talking about the Word and the road ahead for all of us. So it was with great pain and sadness that we all suffered the loss of Linda when God took her sweet presence home to be with Him. The period of loss and grieving was difficult for all of us, but hardest on David and their daughter Courtney. But out of the ashes of despair God set in motion His plan to not only restore the ministry He had given David but to bless and restore his broken heart and fulfill a prophetic promise He had made to Catia.
God allowed me to witness this incredible miracle at the outset. David and I talked a lot about what his life was like with all the struggles after losing Linda. One morning he called me to tell me that God had shown him something that not only was he certain of but that it seemed impossible. We prayed about it and the Lord gave me gave me a short word. I told David that if it was Brazil then it was part of His plan to get him back into the ministry to which he had been called… your prophetic anointing is still there.
I will let Catia share this incredible miracle and encouragement to the bride of Christ with you. As I read her book, through the tears I was blessed and encouraged once again to be reminded that God never leaves us… if we will continue to trust in Him and lean on His love, His grace and His wisdom.
My sweet sister is living proof that God will turn Losing to Win… and He is winning in her new life and with new life for Brazil.