Praising God for Holes in the Wall

Acts 9:24-25 tells how Paul escapes an attempt on his life: “Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.” Sometimes the wall is a hard head or a situation, but separation from God is still an attempt on our lives. Praise God for prayer opportunities, especially those at choice moments when we’re willing to accept a word from believers & be lowered to our escape route whose name is JESUS.

After watching a couple clips of speakers at Whitney Houston’s funeral yesterday, I thought about the grevious events that brought me into a house of God before I was reborn in Christ. It is almost too easy to sort those occassions by my own degree of seperation from God. I’m blessed today that this morning’s Bible reading puts my ponderings into a scriptural context. John the Baptist came before the Lord Jesus. His work was to prepare hearts to receive the gift of God. Most anyone knows its difficult to communicate with someone who’s not sorry for anything, who’s full of self-justification & rebellion. Isaiah 40 reads: 

“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level…And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed’” (3-5).

During hurricane Katrina, I stayed at my parents house. I was somewhat participating in an approved drug rehab plan, & my previous companion was in jail.  The Katrina damage kept me there longer than I expected. When I attended church with them, their preacher asked people to give towards a relief effort. He suggested that especially those who were unable to help much at 9/11 or the terrible tsunami the Christmas before should do whatever they could for the many whose lives were devastated. I had a few pangs of guilt about the selfish life I led. Then, some music was played that particularily touched me, & I couldn’t stop crying the rest of the service. I think the preacher gave an altar call, but I didn’t respond. Today, crying in church is a regular occurance for me, but that’s wasn’t the case when I was further from the Lord.

Six years ago, the only son of the companion mentioned above died. He was 19 or so. I didn’t know him well. When he came to visit dad, an argument over money or pills usually occurred, the inevitable result of addictions within a family. A new guy was still in my life, but I attended the funeral for the dad’s sake. Months behind on a number of bills, including my house note, I begged & borrowed to get something to help me through the service which was packed with more people than I probably even knew after 30 years in Baton Rouge. I was devastated at moments for the boy’s parents, particularly mom who tearfully thanked me for coming, but mostly I was uncomfortable. I have to assume some prayers were said & a message was given, but I was away from God in various ways, unrepentant, & couldn’t recieve. I’d felt closer to God when I saw Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat a couple years before. I rode to Atlanta with my dad & the dogs to visit my sister & her dogs; I was drug free for the week, & no one else was living in my house at the time.

Just a few weeks after the boy’s service, my cousin’s teenage daughter passed. Praise God, a beautiful & gifted younger sister was given to them some years before. I tried to imagine the sadness they endured. I wished I could offer consoling words or see grief depart for a while, but again, I could not experience the presence of God.  Although my cousins live up north, it was Mardi Gras in LA, & 5 months pregnant, I’d  managed to find some mischief the day before. During the service, the preacher talked about how my cousin’s daughter had sought the Lord in recent months, giving her life to Jesus. Although it sounded good, away from God, the miracle of that news was lost on me. Eternity was not a consideration for me before I was reborn in Christ.

Recently I saw on twitter or facebook remarks concerning a popular singer’s words about demons. The response was more or less: listen to your songs. Once in a while, I overhear conversations that might suggest people who aren’t Holy Spirit filled Christians outright ignore a truth that’s plain to them. I am at times guilty of this behavior. How forgetful can I be?

Matthew 3:5 says of John the Baptist’s call:  Then the people…were going out to him…& they were baptized by him…confessing their sins. Hearing the call for repentance is a miracle in itself. John the Baptist was no ordinary man. An angel told of his coming. His doubting dad couldn’t speak until he was born. Jesus said he was the greatest on earth.  Praise God for all who lead us to a moment of repentance. Tangled in sin, I rarely sensed God’s presence enough to be remorseful. I eventually called to Him in anguish. I still struggled with the drugs, but I was preparing my home for a new housemate who thanked God for her sobriety & did her best to live God’s way.  The prayers of believers & the grace of God led me to a straighter path where I too could eventually recieve the gift of God.  You hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried…Hear, O Lord, & be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper” (Psalm 30:7-10).

After my deliverance, when my child was just a few months old, I experienced a window of stability. Many who struggle against lifestyles of sin go through windows of stability. Luke 11:24-26 speaks of such times: the unclean spirit leaves, returns to find the house in order, & brings 7 other more evil spirits. Praise God, at this time I was strengthened. I attended a church service where I was led in a prayer of confession & acceptance of Christ as my Savior. Although I didn’t leave my seat or give the prayer much thought afterwards, I know beyond a doubt a change was initiated. Within a month or so, a wrong door was closed. Certainly it was not my last struggle against sinful lifestyles, but preparation for the way of the Lord was underway: “the uneven ground shall become level, & the rough places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4). God is good! He is good!

 “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:37-39).