The following is an excerpt from The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare, by Ed Murphy (pp. 58-60):
My daughter attended college while living at home. Being a swimmer, she spent each evening at the college pool. There she became acquainted with a young man who was on the college swim team. One day she told me about him. "Dad, I met this handsome, neat guy named Pat at school. He's on the swim team. I have been trying to witness to him but he says he's an atheist. He's one of the most moral guys I have ever met. He never swears. His talk is always above reproach and he's a perfect gentleman around girls. I wish I could reach him for Christ. Could we all pray for his salvation?"
Of course we all agreed. Weeks went by, but Pat's spiritual resistance remained unchanged. He was quite willing to talk about God and Christ, but he had no personal interest in God for his own life. He was interested in Carolyn, however.
One day Carolyn asked if we could invite Pat to go to church with us the next Sunday morning and have lunch with us afterwards. Then I could have sometime alone with him to talk to him about Christ. We agreed. I happened to be speaking in the college Sunday School class that Sunday, and Pat attended. He was polite and seeming right at home with the other college young people. After lunch that Sunday I asked if we could talk alone, and he readily agreed.
We talked for at least an hour, but got nowhere. Though Pat listened attentively and was very courteous, he maintained his unbelief in the existence of a personal God.
"I wish i could believe like you and Carolyn, Mr. Murphy," he said " but i cannot. I don't know why, but i cannot. It's all very confusing to me. I don't usually have trouble thinking things through, but when it comes to God and Christ i draw a blank. It doesn't have any meaning to me."
Later I told Carolyn that Pat's mind was like the mind spoken by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4. "The god of this world has blinded his mind until he cannot grasp even the elementary things about God, man, sin, Christ, and salvation", I told Carolyn. "I have never dealt with a person so totally blind to spiritual truth."
"I know you like him. I do too. We all do. He is a gentle, kind, and courteous young man. But unless his mind and heart are opened by God, there is no future for you with him. You would not want to spend the rest of your life with an atheist."
Carolyn agreed but determined to continue her witness. I could see she felt drawn to him but trusted her to make the right decision at the right time.
A couple of months latter I was on a long overseas trip. In Greece I found a letter from Carolyn waiting for me. It was a "bombshell".
"Dear Dad," Carolyn wrote. "The most amazing thing happened with Pat. After you left I really began to press him about his need of Christ. I told him I was tired of his intellectual reasons for being an atheist. I was just as intellectual as he; yet Christ was the most real person in my life."
"I told him his problems were not intellectual but moral and spiritual. He was a sinner but too proud to admit it and humble himself before God, confess his sins, and choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. I told him he was blinded, confused, and bound by the Devil and that he was responsible to turn against the Devil and believe God."
"I had learned that Pat had come from a very disfunctional home. His mother and dad separated when he was a teenager. He loved his dad very much, he had no respect for his mother. He saw his home disintegrate before his eyes. Shortly after the separation, his dad suddenly died of a heart attack. His mother then lied about his age and put him in the military to get him out of the home when he was only 17.
"He asked me, 'Where was this so-called God of yours while my home was breaking up? What kind of God is He to allow such evil in the world?'
"I told him that i did not have all the answers for his anger with God and life," Carolyn wrote. "But i had the answer to his confusion, and that answer was in Christ. Finally i told him that unless he opened his mind and heart to give God a chance in his life, we would have to stop going out together. The boyfriend i wanted had to love Christ even as i did."
"Dad, we were sitting together on a park bench in Starboard Park near our home. It had rained heavily the night before, and the ground was covered with water and mud puddles. Suddenly the weirdest thing i have ever seen in my life happened before my eyes.
"Pat's body levitated off the bench and he was thrown backwards over the back of the bench. He hit mud puddle with a splash. He rolled around until he was totally covered with mud. He suddenly sprang up and jumped around on his haunches, just like an ape. His eyes were glazed over and radiated hatred against me. He stuck his tongue out and hissed and spit at me. Then from his throat came a torrent of swear words and blasphemies that were totally demonic.
"Dad, I knew that was not Pat glaring at me, spitting at me, cursing me and Christ, and hopping around me in the mud. It was a demon.
"I tried to remember all you had taught us about dealing with demons in manifestation, but i was alone and i was scared. I began to quote God's word against them and that made them even more furious. I prayed, cryed and continued to quote God's promisesof protection for me and salvation for Pat through the blood of Christ. That really agitated the demons. Finally, i began to sing the children's testimony chorus, 'Jesus Loves Me This I Know.' I changed the words and sang by faith Pat's salvation in his behalf since he could not do it himself,
Jesus Loves Pat, this i know,
For the Bible tells me so.
As i did so i began to march in circles around Pat, singing with all my heart. The demons never took their eyes off me but hopped around in the mud as i circled them.
"After an hour of this i was so tired i could hardly walk. I knew i needed help. I remembered that two of our mission leaders who had experience with demons lived near by, so jumped in the car and went to their home. Thanks God both were home and agreed to return with me to help set Pat free.
"When we reached the park Pat was not there. He lives in an apartment not too far away, so we went there. We found the door open and Pat sitting on the couch, half dazed but in his right mind. The men prayed with him. There were still some hang-on demons, but basically Pat was set free.
"'Carolyn,' Pat said,'I do not remember one thing that happened from the time you began to speak firmly to me about my sin of pride and my need to repent, humble myself, and accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. Suddenly everything went blank. The next i knew, i was sittinbg in a mud puddle in the park covered with mud, and you were gone. I could not figure out what had happened to me or why you had left. I walked home in total confusion.
"'i took off my filthy clothes and began to take a shower. As i looked up to adjust the shower head i saw a vision. The cross of Christ superimposed across the shower head and suddenly i was free. All that raced through my mind was,
Jesus loves me, this i know
for the Bible tells me so.
"'I cried my confession to God, and He heard me. I called upon Jesus, and He came into my life and washed all my sins away.
"'I now know there is a God and He is my Father. I know that Jesus Christ is real, and He is now my Lord and savior.'"
Though i have told this story a dozen times, it still brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. When i returned from overseas i spent hours whit Pat in prayer and bible study. He had already joined the college group of a local church and was witnessing for Christ.
Was he demonized? Yes, he was severly demonized. When did the demons go out? I don't know. Possibly they left when Carolyn was commanding their exit in the park and proclaiming Pat's salvation by faith in song. I have seen it happen that way.
Perhaps they went out when the Lord came to Pat in the shower and, for the first time in his life, he could believe and proclaim his own salvation.
Was that the last of Pat's problems with demons? No. He was attacked again and again. He had to learn ongoing self deliverance. He had to come to stronger Christians for prayer and even more deliverance. Deliverance is more of a process than a one time once-and-for-all-crisis-event for almost all severely demonized persons. It was so for Pat.
How is Pat today? He walks faithfully with God for many years now. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is an outstanding church leader. He is one of my closest Christian friends.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Epiphany of Love
Here goes a beautiful testimony by Lynda:
"Let me tell you a story that happened to me several years ago. About 17 years ago I met this wonderful guy and ended up in a whirlwind romance that left me 35 and pregnant with my first child. The father was shipped off to the first Gulf war before I knew I was pregnant. He called me on Christmas day, when I was 4 1/2 months along to tell me that I should abort my child.I was devastated and after the initial shock wore off, developed an attitude that I could do this by myself and that I did not need ANYONE. Pride. I secluded myself for the next 10 years only working and caring for my son. Not Letting anyone close to me.During this time I would pray at night but deep down in my heart felt like it wasn't much use anyway, because this had to be my punishment for things I had done in that past and I was going to hell anyway. Ten years went by and I met a cop online and started to date him. Three months into the relationship I found out that I was just one of many...Emotional low does not even come close to how I felt at that point..Then one day six years ago I experienced what I call an Epipany. I was on my way to work and stopped off at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee. It was extremely cold that morning. One of those days when all the little hairs around your eyes freeze as soon as you walk outside. I was thinking about this guy and how he hurt me and was looking around in my car for some paper to write him a nasty note. Instead I found this little booklet that a minister had given me several months earlier when I had my ten year old baptised. In this little book was a prayer asking Jesus to enter or re-enter your life. I read that prayer.What happened next no man on earth can convince me didin't. I started to cry like I have never cried before. Uncontrollably and deep from within the soul. Then alone in that car on one of the most frigid days of the year I suddenly felt as if I was on a very warm Carribean beach. I felt a sensation of being hugged. When I reached up to wipe the tears away it was the softest feeling I have ever felt. For weeks I tries to dupicate that touch but never could again.
Alone in that car I instantly felt the presence of more love than I ever knew in my life and instantly knew that I was not alone and that every sin was forgiven. I knew in that instant that no matter what happened in my life I was not going to be alone.
I am just as convinced that the devil is out there pulling for the same souls to go in the wrong direction. Several years later I met my husband. Things were wonderful with us for the first three years . Almost to the day that I started earnestly reading the series of books
LEFT BEHIND and then consuming inpirational books My husband embarked on his affair. Coincidence? I think not. I think the Devil is really pissed off that I am drawing closer to God each day.But I am standing up to say that regardless of how my current state plays out he will not win this soul. It will be the Lord who holds my hand when I take my last breath!!! So don't ever give up on your quest for answers, or on your prayers. You may think you are praying in vane but he will let you know in his time that he has been listening all along. Bless you all."
"Let me tell you a story that happened to me several years ago. About 17 years ago I met this wonderful guy and ended up in a whirlwind romance that left me 35 and pregnant with my first child. The father was shipped off to the first Gulf war before I knew I was pregnant. He called me on Christmas day, when I was 4 1/2 months along to tell me that I should abort my child.I was devastated and after the initial shock wore off, developed an attitude that I could do this by myself and that I did not need ANYONE. Pride. I secluded myself for the next 10 years only working and caring for my son. Not Letting anyone close to me.During this time I would pray at night but deep down in my heart felt like it wasn't much use anyway, because this had to be my punishment for things I had done in that past and I was going to hell anyway. Ten years went by and I met a cop online and started to date him. Three months into the relationship I found out that I was just one of many...Emotional low does not even come close to how I felt at that point..Then one day six years ago I experienced what I call an Epipany. I was on my way to work and stopped off at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee. It was extremely cold that morning. One of those days when all the little hairs around your eyes freeze as soon as you walk outside. I was thinking about this guy and how he hurt me and was looking around in my car for some paper to write him a nasty note. Instead I found this little booklet that a minister had given me several months earlier when I had my ten year old baptised. In this little book was a prayer asking Jesus to enter or re-enter your life. I read that prayer.What happened next no man on earth can convince me didin't. I started to cry like I have never cried before. Uncontrollably and deep from within the soul. Then alone in that car on one of the most frigid days of the year I suddenly felt as if I was on a very warm Carribean beach. I felt a sensation of being hugged. When I reached up to wipe the tears away it was the softest feeling I have ever felt. For weeks I tries to dupicate that touch but never could again.
Alone in that car I instantly felt the presence of more love than I ever knew in my life and instantly knew that I was not alone and that every sin was forgiven. I knew in that instant that no matter what happened in my life I was not going to be alone.
I am just as convinced that the devil is out there pulling for the same souls to go in the wrong direction. Several years later I met my husband. Things were wonderful with us for the first three years . Almost to the day that I started earnestly reading the series of books
LEFT BEHIND and then consuming inpirational books My husband embarked on his affair. Coincidence? I think not. I think the Devil is really pissed off that I am drawing closer to God each day.But I am standing up to say that regardless of how my current state plays out he will not win this soul. It will be the Lord who holds my hand when I take my last breath!!! So don't ever give up on your quest for answers, or on your prayers. You may think you are praying in vane but he will let you know in his time that he has been listening all along. Bless you all."
A Heavenly Home ....
I wanted to share this beautiful testimony by Sandra:
"When my niece was 10 and suffering from nightmares I instructed her to look in my bible-thompson chain- and find all the scriptures on dreams. I told her if you don't understand them move on and read another. Only your understanding is important. Don't force it. She came across a scripture that said God would put a shield in front of you. She understood this because we had been playing a game that you had to buy a shield to protect you. You could even super size your shield. She said she remembered that her uncle Bill told her to ask God to forgive you of your sins and then ask him what you want. As she went to bed that night she did this. I was awaken about an hour after she went to sleep by her squeeling and crying and laughing all at the same time. She had never been to church or heard of the things she was telling me. She said, Aunt Sandy, Jesus took me to heaven and I walked on the streets of gold and there was a man there building me a house. He said He would always sheild me from the bad dreams. She shook so bad as she was tellling me these things I knew she had been with him. As she started to calm down she talked of all the jewels she saw and all the beatiful houses being built. Out of the mouths of Babes. He kept his promise to her. Never a bad dream again."
"When my niece was 10 and suffering from nightmares I instructed her to look in my bible-thompson chain- and find all the scriptures on dreams. I told her if you don't understand them move on and read another. Only your understanding is important. Don't force it. She came across a scripture that said God would put a shield in front of you. She understood this because we had been playing a game that you had to buy a shield to protect you. You could even super size your shield. She said she remembered that her uncle Bill told her to ask God to forgive you of your sins and then ask him what you want. As she went to bed that night she did this. I was awaken about an hour after she went to sleep by her squeeling and crying and laughing all at the same time. She had never been to church or heard of the things she was telling me. She said, Aunt Sandy, Jesus took me to heaven and I walked on the streets of gold and there was a man there building me a house. He said He would always sheild me from the bad dreams. She shook so bad as she was tellling me these things I knew she had been with him. As she started to calm down she talked of all the jewels she saw and all the beatiful houses being built. Out of the mouths of Babes. He kept his promise to her. Never a bad dream again."
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Impact from IMPAC
I want to share this event with you, my beloved friends. It was an amazingly shocking event. And the Lord loudly spoke to me. Some of you have already heard it.
Once i worked at IMPAC. It was a monitoring and control center for plants throughout North America. They oversaw many plants, both small and multimillion dollar plants. And thus it was in operations 24/7.
There were 4 of us per shift, including a shift supervisor. Basically, problem resolution, controls, monitoring, scheduled events, etc, occurred via us through our control station computers. Since most of it was visual, it was important to pay attention to the computer screen.
For example if a plant shut down, depending on the plant size it could take 30 minutes to 4 hours to start it back up. Depending on this, the company could loose from thousands of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per hours. That's right, per HOUR. And needless to say the customer would loose multiples that amount.
So one day a call had come in from one of the customers requesting a plant shutdown the next day at 6 AM. I happen to take that call and scheduled a reminder for next morning. And discussed this with our shift supervisor. Since this was a gargantuan plant (one of those that took about 4 hours to start back up), i basically made sure to remember this requested event.
Next morning as i woke up, and was thinking about the important task ahead.
Arriving to work at about 5:30 AM, I had this plant in my mind not wanting to forget about this important customer request. And the rest of the team were slowly settling in also. However, to my horror, instead of being alert and ready, they relaxingly engaged in talking about football!
5:45 AM - they talked about football. And i thought, uh-oh i hope they stop soon.
5:50 - 5:57 AM - they still talked about football. I was getting impatient within, then anger began slowly rising within because i was sure they were going to miss the important scheduled event, and all other events, since they were all looking away from their computer screens.
6:00 AM - the scheduled reminder for the customer requested large plant shutdown pops up in all of our screens. But they are still talking about football. And my anger continued to rise within, it was boiling.
6:05 AM - still talking about football
6:10 AM - still talking about football ....
Now consider that this plant and customer operation was most likely a multimillion dollar deal. And at that time its operation depended solely upon us.
Let me stop for a moment as ask YOU: what would you have done in my place?
6:20 AM - They still talked about football. My anger boiled inside. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind: "I cannot believe these guys. They are completely goofing off talking about football and at this very important moment, and not other!", "they are getting paid so much for their skills, and look at what's going on now!". "I can't believe this!" .... and so on.
And yet with all these judgements in my mind, somehow i did not interrupt their football conversation. They were engaged in such a way in their conversation that somehow prevented me from interrupting. And all those who know me know that I am not the shy type, and much less have problems interrupting a conversation when something important comes up.
6:25 - finally they stop talking about football. By then my anger had risen all the way to my head. Yet i was prevented from expressing it also, and simply said to my supervisor: "Remember the requested shutdown? we missed the deadline". And as coming out of a dream, he remembered and his eyes became big out of the surprise.
Me: "Would you like me to to call the customer to assure them? We should at the very least apologize, right?"
Supervisor: "Yes, yes.... please do that" as in a daze.
And i thought to myself, oh, he is in big trouble, and of course most likely does not want to face the customer. I'll do that for him. So i called the customer...
Customer: Hello?
Me: "I am calling from IMPAC. Just wanted to apologize for our delay.... ? Would you like us to go ahead and shut the plant down now?"
Customer: "What are you talking about?" - his voice seemed incredulous and angered at the same time.
Me: "The shut down request from yesterday...." I was getting a feeling that something was wrong.
Customer: "What do you mean?!" Clearly upset "I called to CANCEL that shutdown....!!" and the rest of what he said became inaudible to me.
Me: "I am so sorry for this inconvenience, there was a misunderstanding..." ... and managed to hang up.
At that moment i effectively realized how great God was.
Moral of the story: If we had gone ahead with the scheduled shut down, our team, our department, our company, and the customer would have been in big trouble. Because once this plant was shut down, it would have taken hours to start it back up. And who knows the tens of thousands of dollars lost, and the lawsuit that the shutdown would have caused.
God was protecting us all, besides the fact that He was addressing me.
It was the LORD who caused my team-mates to become distracted with the football conversation. It was His Holy Spirit that, in spite of my angered spirit, inhibited/totally restrained me from interrupting their football conversation. Because i most definitely would have interrupted and the plant would have been shutdown.
.... In our department, the computer systems documented almost everything automatically. So we able put the pieces together, and soon found out what happened. Since in the end nothing bad happened i do not think we told anyone. And as it turned out, there was a new crew member. Though he had many years of operational experience with plants, he unfortunately was not computer savvy, or knew how type well. Combined with the complex procedures, though he had received the cancellation call from the customer, not knowing what to do he most likely forgot about it (because of others things that came up), and in the process did not cancel the the automated shutdown request.
In all this God protected they new employee, our boss, my supervisor, our department, our company, our customer ....
In all this i knew God was speaking directly to me - and quite loudly at that (and with His sense of humor too), since none of my team mates, except for me, were believers. Now i know that He was letting me know that i was relying in my own understanding (which resulted in me getting so angry and passing judgement on my co-workers).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes..." (Prov 3:5-7)
"Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts". (Isaiah 55: 6-9)
When i shared this with my husband, he called the Lord, He is unbelievable. Because this event was such an unbelievable event. Who would have thought that He would intervene in such a way? And He can. The Lord can do whatever pleases Him, in whichever way He desires. Out of the so many ways He could have prevented this mistake, He chose to do it in this shocking way, my brothers and sisters.
Thus this incident has slowly changed my view and interpretation of events. When things seem to be going wrong, and my understanding and convictions yells "it is wrong, it is wrong", or my anxiety or worry rise up, there is yet another voice within that says, wait and see, for who knows what the Lord is up to.
Once i worked at IMPAC. It was a monitoring and control center for plants throughout North America. They oversaw many plants, both small and multimillion dollar plants. And thus it was in operations 24/7.
There were 4 of us per shift, including a shift supervisor. Basically, problem resolution, controls, monitoring, scheduled events, etc, occurred via us through our control station computers. Since most of it was visual, it was important to pay attention to the computer screen.
For example if a plant shut down, depending on the plant size it could take 30 minutes to 4 hours to start it back up. Depending on this, the company could loose from thousands of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per hours. That's right, per HOUR. And needless to say the customer would loose multiples that amount.
So one day a call had come in from one of the customers requesting a plant shutdown the next day at 6 AM. I happen to take that call and scheduled a reminder for next morning. And discussed this with our shift supervisor. Since this was a gargantuan plant (one of those that took about 4 hours to start back up), i basically made sure to remember this requested event.
Next morning as i woke up, and was thinking about the important task ahead.
Arriving to work at about 5:30 AM, I had this plant in my mind not wanting to forget about this important customer request. And the rest of the team were slowly settling in also. However, to my horror, instead of being alert and ready, they relaxingly engaged in talking about football!
5:45 AM - they talked about football. And i thought, uh-oh i hope they stop soon.
5:50 - 5:57 AM - they still talked about football. I was getting impatient within, then anger began slowly rising within because i was sure they were going to miss the important scheduled event, and all other events, since they were all looking away from their computer screens.
6:00 AM - the scheduled reminder for the customer requested large plant shutdown pops up in all of our screens. But they are still talking about football. And my anger continued to rise within, it was boiling.
6:05 AM - still talking about football
6:10 AM - still talking about football ....
Now consider that this plant and customer operation was most likely a multimillion dollar deal. And at that time its operation depended solely upon us.
Let me stop for a moment as ask YOU: what would you have done in my place?
6:20 AM - They still talked about football. My anger boiled inside. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind: "I cannot believe these guys. They are completely goofing off talking about football and at this very important moment, and not other!", "they are getting paid so much for their skills, and look at what's going on now!". "I can't believe this!" .... and so on.
And yet with all these judgements in my mind, somehow i did not interrupt their football conversation. They were engaged in such a way in their conversation that somehow prevented me from interrupting. And all those who know me know that I am not the shy type, and much less have problems interrupting a conversation when something important comes up.
6:25 - finally they stop talking about football. By then my anger had risen all the way to my head. Yet i was prevented from expressing it also, and simply said to my supervisor: "Remember the requested shutdown? we missed the deadline". And as coming out of a dream, he remembered and his eyes became big out of the surprise.
Me: "Would you like me to to call the customer to assure them? We should at the very least apologize, right?"
Supervisor: "Yes, yes.... please do that" as in a daze.
And i thought to myself, oh, he is in big trouble, and of course most likely does not want to face the customer. I'll do that for him. So i called the customer...
Customer: Hello?
Me: "I am calling from IMPAC. Just wanted to apologize for our delay.... ? Would you like us to go ahead and shut the plant down now?"
Customer: "What are you talking about?" - his voice seemed incredulous and angered at the same time.
Me: "The shut down request from yesterday...." I was getting a feeling that something was wrong.
Customer: "What do you mean?!" Clearly upset "I called to CANCEL that shutdown....!!" and the rest of what he said became inaudible to me.
Me: "I am so sorry for this inconvenience, there was a misunderstanding..." ... and managed to hang up.
At that moment i effectively realized how great God was.
Moral of the story: If we had gone ahead with the scheduled shut down, our team, our department, our company, and the customer would have been in big trouble. Because once this plant was shut down, it would have taken hours to start it back up. And who knows the tens of thousands of dollars lost, and the lawsuit that the shutdown would have caused.
God was protecting us all, besides the fact that He was addressing me.
It was the LORD who caused my team-mates to become distracted with the football conversation. It was His Holy Spirit that, in spite of my angered spirit, inhibited/totally restrained me from interrupting their football conversation. Because i most definitely would have interrupted and the plant would have been shutdown.
.... In our department, the computer systems documented almost everything automatically. So we able put the pieces together, and soon found out what happened. Since in the end nothing bad happened i do not think we told anyone. And as it turned out, there was a new crew member. Though he had many years of operational experience with plants, he unfortunately was not computer savvy, or knew how type well. Combined with the complex procedures, though he had received the cancellation call from the customer, not knowing what to do he most likely forgot about it (because of others things that came up), and in the process did not cancel the the automated shutdown request.
In all this God protected they new employee, our boss, my supervisor, our department, our company, our customer ....
In all this i knew God was speaking directly to me - and quite loudly at that (and with His sense of humor too), since none of my team mates, except for me, were believers. Now i know that He was letting me know that i was relying in my own understanding (which resulted in me getting so angry and passing judgement on my co-workers).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes..." (Prov 3:5-7)
"Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts". (Isaiah 55: 6-9)
When i shared this with my husband, he called the Lord, He is unbelievable. Because this event was such an unbelievable event. Who would have thought that He would intervene in such a way? And He can. The Lord can do whatever pleases Him, in whichever way He desires. Out of the so many ways He could have prevented this mistake, He chose to do it in this shocking way, my brothers and sisters.
Thus this incident has slowly changed my view and interpretation of events. When things seem to be going wrong, and my understanding and convictions yells "it is wrong, it is wrong", or my anxiety or worry rise up, there is yet another voice within that says, wait and see, for who knows what the Lord is up to.
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