It had been one trial after another; the most recent one being that my legally blind, estranged father-in-law was going through a divorce at the age of 83 and had moved in with us. Virtually overnight, I had become his primary care-giver. I was beginning to question what God’s plans actually entailed, and if I had ever entertained the principles behind prosperity theology, I was seriously questioning them by this point in time. I was aching for a word from God; some sort of reassurance that He was still in control … a declaration of hope, and an encouragement that, at any moment, things were going to suddenly get better, and my “happily ever after” would begin.
It was my only day off of work, and I needed to take my father-in-law to a doctor’s appointment at the VA Center. The building and grounds were quite old and difficult to navigate. When we entered the main building, it was not clear where to go, but they had volunteer retired veterans who would personally escort you to your appointment.
Our guide was a gentle giant; a towering African-American man who truly looked the part of a veteran war hero, complete with army fatigues. But his jovial laugh, funny anecdotes, and light-hearted demeanor exposed his inner teddy bear. He took his role as tour guide very seriously, and he easily made small talk with us as he led the way through the maze of twisted hallways and corridors until we finally arrived at our destination.
We started to take a seat in the waiting room as he continued his stories, and I laughed politely at all the right moments, but my mind was elsewhere, busily ruminating about my circumstances, my life, and God’s plans. Before we could get too comfortable, my father-in-law was called back for his appointment. I stayed in the waiting room as this Veteran story-teller held me captive.
I was wondering how long it would be before I could retreat back into myself, or perhaps escape reality in the most recent copy of People magazine, when, out of the blue, and for no apparent reason, this man, this divine “tour guide”, became very serious. He asked me a question (I can’t even remember what it was), and then he started quoting scripture to me. I knew that very instant, God was speaking to me. And I knew that what He was about to say was very important.
“Pay attention, Trish,” I thought to myself. “Remember every detail.”
It was a Holy Spirit moment, and what he said to me that day is somewhat of a cloudy blur, but I wrote some things down the minute he left the room (which was pretty much immediately after he said what he clearly felt led to say – a sharp contrast to the meandering persona he’d had just minutes earlier).
He told me that when the Bible talks about a Christian “bearing much fruit” (“remain in me and you will bear much fruit” – John 15:5), it is referring to the “fruit of the Spirit” (see Galatians 5:22-23), which was a new revelation for me; I had always thought it was referring to all the fabulous things I was going to do for God now that I was a Christian! He went on to say that the “fruit of the Spirit” included patience, and that in the King James Translation of the bible, the word for “patience” is actually translated as “long-suffering without protest”. … Seriously?!?!?! … Um, could I get another verse please? What about Door #2? Could we see what’s behind Door #2?!?! … He also said that God wanted me to “seek His face and not His hand” (i.e – seek to know God and who He is, as opposed to what He might do for me). This was hardly the fabulous message of hope and encouragement I was so desperately desiring! … Still, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was a divine message for me, and I would remember it and come back to it often over the next several years as my circumstances rocked my faith to its’ very core.
© I Lift My Voice, 2015.