― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
It's been one of those days. I woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I went to work. It's an old creepy building and I feel a huge unpleasant presence there. I have seen and heard things there before, but not like I did this morning. I decided God only allows us to see and hear what we can handle and that just may be why so many people have a hard time believing, because they haven't seen it.
I was totally comfortable until the sun came up. I decided that was God. If I would have seen it while it was still dark, I would have gone home. I felt like somebody was watching me. It happens often that people come into the office very early on Saturday mornings, so I wasn't startled by the feeling until I looked down a long hall and saw somebody duck into an office. I saw them well enough to know they were there but not clear enough to see who it was. At first I thought somebody was playing a really bad joke on me, but when I saw it the second time, I knew. I couldn't catch my breath. I had the sense that it wanted me to see it. It wanted to scare me. Immediately I felt the presence of God and went back to work. I saw it half a dozen times. It was never really clear and a couple times it scared me for a second, but God showed up. He never left me and I got a lot done. The more I ignored it, the more noise it made. There was banging and creaking and it struck me funny. It reminded me of an angry child who wants you to notice. The more you ignore them the more "In your face" they get.
It was a tired day and I was relieved when my friend who has been ill said he was not feeling well enough to go to church. But immediately the Holy Spirit said, "What about that commitment you made to support Dave's Saturday night service. You haven't been there in a while." So I got in the shower and I went. It was a nodding service. Not falling asleep, but one where I find myself nodding in agreement.
It was at the end of the service when Dave asks if any one has questions or comments that really woke up. The Holy Spirit was very present in me tonight and I almost laughed out loud a couple times at our conversation, but when a lady asked a question, He got serious and started talking. Dave has spent the last two weekends on Psalm 91
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
The woman was comparing the two lines above in blue. She said it didn't make sense that it was a contradiction that He would say we will not strike our foot against a stone, but He will be with us in times of trouble. She understood that not striking your foot meant no trouble. The first thought that came to my mind, but in nicer words, is that "There is a much bigger picture." As a parent of more than one child, sometimes one has to suffer a bit for the other. One may have to do without. My kids did. For many years on Friday night we ate fast food and they got to have what they wanted if I had to pass through three different drive through windows. During the week they sacrificed a lot for each other with no choice in the matter, because I was a single parent. But on Friday night, the end of the week, they all got what they wanted. Just like our lives, what we may have to go through may not even be about us but in the end we will get what we want in Heaven.
We all like to think of the moment. What do I want now. God said this isn't going to be easy, but we need to back up and see there is a much bigger picture. The way I read this, you won't lose your salvation. We think in earthly terms. This whole thing is bigger than that. We will have trouble and He will be with us and He will send angels at times, but our definition of rescue and His can be two different things. They usually are.
One of the first things I thought of was He promises to provide for us, food shelter, clothing, but when the Jews got off the train at Auschwitz who was provided for? Those that were put to death immediately had everything (in Heaven). Those who suffered for months and years and starved to death in their bunk at night, were they provided for? Is it really earthly food, shelter, and clothing He is talking about? Or is He saying we will have everything we need to fulfill His plan on earth and then have everything when we join Him in Heaven.
The story of David and Bathsheba and Uriah - everybody feels sorry for Uriah, but where was he while David and Bathsheba were suffering through consequences? Was he crushed by the affair? Did he even know about it? He was prepared to die at battle and he did - though probably not how he had imagined it, if he had imagined it.
We mourn people who die young. It is sad for those left behind especially young spouses and children. I see it more like when people have served in the military together and one gets to go home. You miss them, but we should be happy for them. The plan God had for their life is complete. What would they have suffered through had they stayed?
Maybe this whole Psalm is about making it through this life to get to that life. He doesn't promise ease and comfort, He doesn't promise we won't lose loved ones or limbs, He doesn't promise we won't fail, be laughed at or go hungry for a couple days. Those are blessings, not promises. What I hear Him promise is that in everything their will be a blessing even though we may not see it or understand it until we get home. He promises He will never leave us or forsake us, but if we believe and seek Him first, we will go home.
Some verses you can not take literal or out of context. This would mean you will never strike your foot against a stone. Doesn't mean you won't trip over one and fall flat on your face. What if you did strike your foot and while hopping around missed your bus. What if the bus you missed was in an accident and rolled over a cliff. What not striking your foot means to you today may not be the same tomorrow. I have found as I grow, verses mean different things to me. Some things you may not understand, because this is my journey.
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
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