Susan Punt’s story is one filled with God’s redemptive love, unending grace and victorious mercy. She grew up in a wonderful home with parents who loved and cared for her. They did all the right things and thought they had everything. Yet, her family had no idea they needed a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Susan was a senior in high school, she encountered a group of Gideons handing out Scriptures outside her school. She took her Testament home and placed it in a dresser drawer. At the time, she had never read the Bible and knew very little about the things of God.
A new approach to life
Months later, a girl at her school asked her a simple question: “Do you know for sure you’re going to heaven?” Taken aback, she replied, “Well, I’m 99% sure I’m going to heaven.” She thought to herself: Why wouldn’t I go to heaven? I love my parents. I go to church. I can’t think of anything I’ve done to prevent me from getting into heaven. That night, she went home and thought about the conversation. She knew exactly how to prove she was going to heaven — by reading the Testament given to her by The Gideons.
She took out the Testament, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, started in the Gospel of John. No one ever shared with her the concepts of repenting of your sins or accepting Jesus into your heart, but as she read the Gospel of John, she was moved to tears. By the power of Scripture, she knew Jesus died on the cross for her. At that moment, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour.
Unchanging God
She enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois. The first day there, Susan met her future husband, Gary. He loved Jesus and came from a family that loved Jesus. The couple dated for a while and then got married. God has always been good to their family. Still, it hurt when Gary was diagnosed with cancer. This was the first time their faith was put to the test, but God never changed. Gary went through numerous surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. Through it all, the couple never saw God differently in their lives. Gary never wavered in his faith.
God in the midst of grief
After Gary went to be with Jesus, Susan knew she could count on God because He is faithful and true. She recalls the following from her grieving process:
Someone asked me what stage of grief I was in, and I thought about that. Denial. How can I deny a great God who loved and saved me? I can’t. Anger. How can I be angry at God when He, in His own wisdom, brought me to a saving relationship with Him? Bargaining. How can I bargain with God of the universe? What could I possibly give Him? God cannot be bargained with. Depression. There are many days I feel sad, but I rejoice greatly in the Lord. I have learned to be content, no matter the circumstance, and the secret to being content in any and every situation. Acceptance. I accept what happened. I know God was in control of the situation.
Susan doesn’t know what the next stage of her life is going to be, but she knows God is faithful and true, and He will never leave nor forsake her. When she feels sorry for herself, she looks at Psalms 8. She inserts her name and says, “Sue Punt, who are you that God is even mindful of you?” But God is mindful of her. This truth overwhelms Susan — that He thinks about her, loves her and cares for her.
(Story has been shortened.)
Source: Gideons International
