Here’s an honest to goodness confession. I messed up. I know that it’s difficult to believe. There are those who believe that I am so perfect that when I step into the shower and accidentally raise my hands that the waters part thus making it difficult for me to get wet.
Here’s the confession. A couple of days ago, I quickly read my daily Bible reading, made a quick one-sentence entry into my journal, and then raced off to get the next thing done on my to-do list. Every thing was great until 3:30 AM when the Holy Spirit awakened me to show me what my haste had caused me to overlook. Mind you, I was in bed that night minding my own business when He interrupted my dreams. I’m telling the truth. I’m not preaching. (That’s a poor joke about preachers who “create” stories to emphasize a point.)
Before I tell you about what He said, let me attempt to defend myself. You see, the Bible reading earlier that day was the all too familiar account of the baby Jesus being presented in the temple. Mind you, I’ve been in church for 58 years and have heard this story hundreds of times. I knew the story. So, in my defense, I didn’t feel like that I needed to spend an enormous amount of time in Luke 2. My one-sentence journal entry was decent and so I was finished … that is until 3:30 AM.
Without me needing to turn on the light or disturb Vickie, I laid in bed and listened to the Holy Spirit list what my haste had caused me to miss. The Holy Spirit reminded me that in my reading earlier that day, I saw that Simeon had a clear promise from the Holy Spirit that He would see the Promised One before he died. (Luke 2:26). I already knew this fact and that’s what caused me to race through the reading. But, He didn’t stop there. The Holy Spirit brought back to my mind that not only did He give Simeon the promise, He was the One who led (prompted … Amplified Translation) Simeon to go to the temple that day. If Simeon had missed the fulfillment of the promise, it would have been totally his fault. And finally, the Holy Spirit gave Simeon the ability to see something that no one else could see. He reminded me that the baby Jesus looked just like every other 40-day-old boy. There were no halos or angelic choirs to herald His identity. The only way that Simeon could have recognized and then prophesied over the Promised One was through the Holy Spirit’s enablement.
Again, this is no exaggeration. He didn’t have me to get out of bed and open up the Bible and awaken Vickie to read along with me. In the stillness of the night, step by step, the Holy Spirit showed me how His promise to Simeon unfolded. By the time that He had finished, I was having a Red Bull spiritual adrenaline rush. My heart was racing because I knew exactly what He had awakened to tell me. Needess to say, I later had to add a WHOLE LOT to that journal entry.
Here is why I am sharing this personal moment with you. Many of you are in the same situation that Vickie and I are in. The instructions that I received are applicable to you. Like many of you, Vickie and I have clearly heard and received a promise from the Holy Spirit. In our case, based upon His promise and direction, we left every thing behind including our safety net and total security so that we travel to the nation and the nations of the world to ignite a Holy Spirit fire in children’s ministries and churches. That night’s sleep interruption was a divine reminder about the importance of being sensitive to His urgings and promptings. Like Simeon, we can’t afford to miss the Holy Spirit’s promptings. One missed obedience could have caused Simeon to abort the promise. We can’t afford to miss a window of opportunity provided by the Holy Spirit. And finally, we need to see things through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. The eyes of the natural and the eyes of the Spirit can be very different.
Hopefully you are joining me right now in a Holy Spirit Red Bull spiritual adrenaline rush moment. The Holy Spirit is not only capable of giving you a promise, He is able and willing to guide you step by step to get you to where you need to be, and then finally open your eyes so that you can see what no one else can see in the natural. Pardon me while I quit typing. The retelling of what the Holy Spirit told me a couple of nights ago and the reminder of the urgency and necessity of being totally dependent upon Him has my spirit racing. Holy Spirit, bring it on. I’m going to walk in obedience and see the fulfillment of Your promise!
Amen!