A Cry of Victory and a Garment of Praise

By Elizabeth Perez

The central figure and focus of this book is God. He has given me overwhelming victory in a garment of praise (see Isaiah 61:3). It’s my desire to share some of the many special blessings that I have experienced in my journey with God. Through this journey, I discovered, as you too will discover, that though we are frail and weak, He gives us the strength and understanding to dwell in Him. In Philippians 4:13, Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We are victorious because He knows each one of us by name and is aware of our life’s struggles.

This book is my story, the story of a woman who believed the timeless truth that God could, and still can, do anything! Without a doubt, this belief carried me through many difficult circumstances of rejection, illnesses, pain, and sorrow. Through my dependency and trust on God’s Holy Word, He made me an overcomer. Today more than ever, I believe Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” I still believe in God’s purpose for my life. All my accomplishments have been due to His provision, love, mercy, grace, patience, and forgiveness. God loves you! He will never forsake you. Trust Him, and you shall have peace and joy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685263232

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Story Begins to Unfold

Oh Lord, you’re beautiful,

Your face is all I seek,

For when your eyes are on this child,

Your grace abounds to me.

(Keith Green, from the album So You Want to Go Back to Egypt, 1980)

This Keith Green song tells my story, a story of how my belief and trust in God brought me through physical and mental abuse as well as sorrow, rejection, and alienation to a life of peace, joy, and blessing. A story of a life led by God, even when I thought He wasn’t with me. A story that found God’s Word to be true when it says, When my father and mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me (Psalm 27:10 NKJV).

Sometimes we talk to the Lord out of desperation, not totally aware of His power and love for us. We ask Him for things, because we have been taught to ask, and at times, we have no idea how He will make them happen. In 1972, I made one of those prayers. I said, Lord, someday I would like to teach at Jimmy Swaggart Bible College [JSBC]. Not fully comprehending then what I had asked the Lord, I forgot about this prayer, but guess what, God never forgets. At that time, I was a high school dropout, a mother of four children, and in an abusive marriage. I couldn’t see a way out of my situation, let alone a way for me to become a teacher! But I said, Lord, I surrender to You regardless of my circumstances. Little did I know what my future would hold or how God was going to unfold an answer to that prayer.

Fast-forward fifteen years. It was November 1987, and I was in Mexico on a JSBC mission trip with a practicum of twenty students—eighteen young men and two young ladies. How did this take place? Through a long series of events, I was asked to lead this JSBC crusade in Mexico. It was a prayer come true, yet there I was saying to God, I don’t know what to do, but I’ll do what You want me to do. Just help me.

His answer was clear when I believe He said, I will. The students are young. They need your wisdom and energy.

Wisdom, I could always use more, but energy I had in abundance!

I was to learn that when we surrender and allow Christ to live in us that God does not see us as broken vessels—He sees us as holy vessels that He can use. That evening in the service, the Lord gave me this scripture: Daniel 11:32, But the people who know their God shall be strong and do great things (TLB). This word became real and alive in my spirit. On my own, I couldn’t do what I saw to be an insurmountable task, but as I looked to the Lord, He would accomplish His will. Slowly, I began to learn to trust my heavenly Father for everything—personal and otherwise. I began to know God, and if there was something I didn’t fully grasp, the Lord provided godly men and women who gave me instruction and direction. The will of God will not take you where the grace of God will not protect you.

Commitment to serve God no matter what is how God has worked in my life. It took five years of hard work for me to earn a high school diploma and both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from two prestigious universities funded by a federal education grant. In 1976, I graduated and began to work as an elementary school teacher and thought, I have succeeded. I was able to gain seven years of teaching experience in the public schools, which led me to continue my education.

Even so, I continued teaching in the school and at my church’s Sunday school with my mentor’s guidance. By 1986, I began to wonder, What else am I to do? And I did what I knew to do—continue my education. I decided to study for a PhD in school administration and applied at the University of Wisconsin. While there, I believe the Lord spoke to me, saying, You don’t need a PhD. Just be the teacher I want you to be—a practical, understanding, and caring teacher—and teach My Word as I guide you. So I completed that year and stopped studying for my PhD.

However, while working on my PhD, I was invited to apply to the Pan American Games organization to train as an interpreter/translator for the games that would be held in Indianapolis (they needed people who were bilingual in Spanish and English). This fit right into my plans, I thought, because I had a dream of becoming an interpreter at the United Nations in New York City, and that training would stand me in good stead. Also, while teaching in Milwaukee, I was offered a position as a principal with an increase in my salary! I finally was on the road to success, I thought.

But unbeknownst to me, God had other plans. Before beginning my Pan American Games training in 1987, my friend Lorraine kept insisting that I go with her to a Jimmy Swaggart camp meeting. I didn’t want to go, but finally agreed. She constantly reminded me that after the camp meeting, I could go to Indianapolis and get the training for the games. While we were at the camp meeting, a Spanish teaching position at JSBC opened, but that was not where my heart was. I still had some business of my own to attend to, and teaching at the college was not in my goals at that time. Somehow, I had forgotten my 1972 conversation with the Lord! But God never forgets our prayers even if we do.

During the camp meeting, I met a student, and after our meeting, he informed the president of JSBC of my credentials as a teacher. On the last day, as I was preparing to leave and head for Wisconsin, the director called and asked if I would come to the college office for an interview. I was ready to drive back home and was in my traveling clothes but agreed to the interview. We had a positive meeting, but I had pretty much already determined that I wasn’t going to take the job for personal reasons. I told them I didn’t think the position was for me, but they said to pray about it, we’d talk again. I called Mom and Shiela Kuehnle (my chosen spiritual mother and sister/mentor) and shared the opportunity of teaching at JSBC. They were thrilled and said they would pray with me and for me, but the ultimate decision was between God and me.

On the drive home, my friend insisted that I should think and pray about the position. As we drove home, the Lord began to deal with me. I returned to Milwaukee and really prayed because I had two great opportunities ahead—in Milwaukee as a school administrator and Indianapolis, with the Pan American Games, the opportunity to reach my goal at the United Nations as a translator/interpreter! But something in my spirit prompted me to put out a fleece before the Lord, which was this: when the president of JSBC would call back, he had to say, We believe it’s God’s will, and we want you to be a part of our faculty.

Sure enough, the president did call me again, and told me that I would be an asset to the college and then responded to the fleece I had laid out before the Lord. So what could I do? All the components of my fleece were addressed! After a week of more prayer, I ended up accepting the teaching position at JSBC. I turned down the Milwaukee administrative position with a salary increase and also turned down the translator/interpreter training with the Pan American Games. No one could believe it! Not even I! But no matter what, I had made a commitment to the Lord to serve Him. That commitment was that I would do whatever He asked me to do since He had provided and blessed me with a special gift, my education. `

All the goals for success and grandeur that I had planned for went out the window when