Short Stories
Whoever says God is dried up or boring doesn’t know Him. He can take us from depths of despair to heights of extreme joy and happiness all in one day. I know because He’s done it for me and I’ve seen Him do it to for my friend April. In just one short span of an evening, April went from feelings of anxiety and doubt to being overjoyed with the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because what she saw and what she received by faith made all the difference. Oh yes, the Holy Spirit is real for those who believe and trust in Him. He will bring you up from the lowest point and place you on a pinnacle of peace and joy and happiness. This is April’s story.
My new acquaintance April has become my closest and dearest friend because our friendship was God ordained. It all began two months ago when we sat together going over Scripture. She blurted out that the day God brought us together, was the same day she intended on taking her life. An urgency to pray in the Spirit for her brought her to the point of rededicating her life to Christ. This was just one day that heaven came down but it wouldn’t be the last for April as she began her journey on a path that is narrow and proving to be a difficult one.
As all blessings go, the enemy will always be right there, nipping on one’s heels to discourage this faith. April seemed unsure of the power that God has in her life. Once the immediate feeling of salvation goes away, faith for a new believer also tends to fade. She admitted to me that she wasn’t sure if she could do this as there were so many obstacles that seemed to be keeping her from growing. From someone who’s been there, done that and has the hat and tee shirt to prove it, I prompted her with this fact, “It’s nothing unusual.” I enlightened her to know that this is how it will be from now on, but as we grow and know the Word of God, the enemy eventually will no longer be a threat, just more of a nuisance. We go from Satan being our enemy into becoming his enemy. As we build on a firm foundation, and strengthen the width and depth of our roots, we prove to be immovable, no matter what storms may arise. But, it’s essential to keep growing and knowing Christ in order to stand. And this is the hard part that seems to cause April’s stumbling block.
This path we start walking is nothing less than exciting...not easy, but thrilling when you learn to trust the Lord with all His promises. Yes, it is a battle, but we aren’t fighting it alone. When we know Who is at our right side and our left side, beneath us and above us, all around us and within us, we have no need to fear, because fear is nothing but False Evidence Appearing Real. We have the blessings of God that have broken these curses and also the authority and power to rebuke them in the Lord’s mighty name. This wisdom and knowledge comes through a devout and steady course and once we grab a hold of it, we are indestructible!
One evening while sitting outside, April and I were talking about this walk of faith. She told me she felt like there was a void of some kind and she just couldn’t seem to grasp it. It’s this very thing that encourages us to keep seeking, keep knocking and keep asking the Lord to intervene as our faith in Him grows. He takes us all through baby steps and doesn’t expect us to know it all in one day. I admitted to April that I felt like that at one time as well. I felt like I was in a dark room and just couldn’t reach the light switch. I needed to grow more. I told her that for the longest time, I felt as though I were going around and around the same old mountain, and the truth is, I was! God had to teach me some things before He would allow me to continue in an upward motion. Discouraged but not giving up, I kept praising Him in all situations. This is one of the hardest things we must do in order to get closer to the Lord. I knew that we had to praise Him in all situations so as to see the blessings. “Just keep eating the meat, chew on it, gnaw on it and digest it and one day you will be tall enough to reach the light switch” I replied. The light will come on, it may even be a little dim even at first, but at least now we will be able to see more than we could before. It’s a slow progression. What I saw before me was a long and arduous climb to the top of a very steep and slippery mountain. But, I was bound and determined to ascend to a higher plain. This climb brought me in the face of forgiveness of those who literally tried to destroy my husband’s and my life by taking our home away. We had to realize that some things need to be cherished and not clung to. We had to be thankful for the time we did have in our home but to trust in God Almighty and let it go. In Him and Him alone we move and breathe and have our being. When He closes a door He will open another one for our good and His glory. This brought us to a place of trusting in Him and not trying to figure it all out as to why this life seems to be so unfair. We accept that this world brings persecution and hatred, and that whatsoever is sown, shall also be reaped. It’s all a matter of fruits we produce. We handed the wicked fruits of those whe meant to destroy us over to the Lord to deal with as He saw fit. We had to sow seeds of trust and faith and believe we would reap a harvest of blessings for our unknown future. Oh yes, this climb has been steep, and slippery. I’ve often times slid downward having to start all over again. But not once did I take my eyes of Jesus. I was reminded of His climb to the top of Calvary’s hill as He was whipped and stripped and degraded as a man and the King of kings, all for my sake as He bled and died on a cross of shame. My journey is nothing in comparison. Is yours?
I am also reminded of this as I gather my strength for the next steps to freedom. I encouraged April that this is all part of our walk and we all must go do it as He sees fit to bring us forward. But, God gives us other people to encourage us to keep going and keep us lifted in spirit as we struggle our way to the top. As I announced to April that this is an honor and a privilege, not to give up because there are benefits and blessings involved. It’s not been an easy excursion, and I’m not all the way there yet, and won’t be until the day I am called home, but I have reached one of the pinnacles and have been given the opportunity to see what I’ve worked so hard to achieve. In total and complete trust in the Lord, I have learned to submit and give everything up to see how He wonderfully will turn all things together for the good because I love Him and have been called according to His purpose. I am strong enough now not to believe what the “Accuser” tries to say to me. He will lie to us about our health, but praise God I have been given power and authority in Jesus’ name to call out migraines that would not leave my husband alone. And we rebuked the doctor’s report that he might have a blood clot on the brain. That was false. We didn’t claim that his problem could be due to clotted arteries and that too also proved to be false. It’s all false when you call these spirits of doubt, depression, sickness and illnesses out because you are covered in the Blood! Yes, it’s been many years, but I can honestly say, I have been transported into all Truth that leaves me free of bondage! So for my dear friend April, I told her this would be true for her as well, as she has already seen the power of the Lord heal her. This is where her apprehension towards God turned into elation as she saw His power at work in her sick body.
Several weeks ago, the Jesus Power Explosion came to our tri-county area in Pennsylvania. I had been involved with the preparation of it since this past spring. I volunteered as a Prayer Team Member. It was our duty to meet at the fair grounds an hour early in order to come together in corporate prayer and believe that God was going to pour down His Holy Spirit and minister to the lost, the unsaved and the backslidden. I invited April to come this night to see for herself that power released. She was excited to go but as she sat and listened to us praying and praising and speaking in tongues aloud she got apprehensive. She admitted that maybe she made a mistake in coming and wasn’t so sure about this whole event. Perhaps her brother was right when he told her it might be a demon possessed event. He told her she couldn’t trust everything she heard. I agree with that whole heartedly, but this was not one of those occasions. I simply reassured April that she would experience the Holy Spirit this night and would come out feeling quite different. She sure did!
The praise and worship band began to play. April cautiously stood up and raised her arms and closed her eyes and was taken into the presence of the Lord. “Thank You Jesus” I quietly thought. I knew He was ministering to her right then and there. Her doubts and fears were shrinking away. The revival began with the well known evangelist Mark Swiger who came to bring the message of the ‘Good News’. It was powerful and riveting to have this knowledge presented in an even more illustrative way that allowed me to round another corner in my own faith. Yes, I thought, this message just cinched it for me. Only now I could grasp it even more concretely. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit surge through my veins, I felt God’s breath breathe new life into me as well as April. There was no mistaking His presence in this place. It was glorious.
When Mark was done speaking, he invited all who needed healing to come forward. I saw April questioning this in her mind. Could this be for real? She had remarked how she saw things like this and didn’t believe them. After all, how could someone be healed instantly? This stuff just didn’t happen...or did it? And what was up with people falling down? In silence, I said, “Dear Heavenly Father, please prompt April to come forward for her healing.” No sooner had I prayed this when she walked up to the front of the line and stood with expectancy.
April has had health issues with her pancreas and digestive system and has had a difficult time eating anything that agrees with her. I stood back and thanked the Lord for what He was about to do in her life and all those many people who were standing there. April’s hands were held high and her face was lifted upward. She was taking it all in, receiving Him. The man of God stopped in front of April and claimed healing. He called her illness by name and commanded it to leave her body. No sooner had he done that, April fell straight back and into the arms of the men who were ready to catch her. They laid her on the ground and there she stayed for several minutes unable to move. Finally, she sat up not yet able to stand. With weak and shaky legs she was hit by the Holy Spirit. I went to her and threw my arms around her and prayed over her thanking the Lord for healing her. We cried and wept happy tears together. This is the God I know and love and now the same God that April will come to know and love.
As we left that evening, April practically skipped back to the car. She said she felt like a kid or someone who was even drunk. She was giddy with excitement. She told me about the sensation of warm electricity that jolted through her body in the area that needed repaired and how wonderful she felt. The burning and irritation had left her and she claimed her healing. “I’m healed!” she shouted. She then said, “I know He’s real, I can feel Him all around me!” She received the pure gospel that night and knew her Jesus was alive and living on the inside of her. Her elation was so child-like and pure that it reminded me just how awesome our Lord is. We both laughed and giggled the whole way home. April had a new lease on life. Her apprehension had left her.
She asked me one thing that I thought was so precious. She doubted instant healing and being slain in the Spirit. She saw people on tv fall down and this was something she just couldn’t understand. How could anyone fall down unless it were on purpose? She found out that night for herself when she asked, “Who hit me?” I replied, “What do you mean, who hit you?” She said, I was standing there and the next thing I remember was I was on the ground...who hit me?” I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. “Honey” I said, “The Holy Spirit hit you.”
If you have never experienced a move of God in your life and would like to invite Him in, it’s only a heart beat away. If you believe that Jesus lived and died and rose again and is the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world including your own, and if you confess to God that you are a sinner in need of a Savior Who will remove all your sins, then just tell Him you are sorry and want Him to live inside of you. It’s a prayer that will flow from your heart and with sincere thanks for what God has done for you, praise Him for loving you so much when He sent His only Son to die for you so that you may have life ever lasting. You will now be a child of the light, no longer one who is living in the dark. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth as you grow in the Word. This is the beginning of new life! It is powerful.
Never forget; your gratitude should be a continuous attitude!
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