“No, Ben’s joy this morning was more than the anticipation of another prank. It was because something had happened to him that we all long for — something saints have lived and died for without ever finding — and Ben received it last night at the ripe old age of ten. Ben heard from God.”
These words were uttered by Ben’s father, Pastor Beamering, from the baptistry, high above the choir loft, where he stood weighed down by four feet of water that had flooded the chest-high fishing waders he wore when baptizing so he could stay dry while in the water. Ben had seen to it that his father would get all wet this time by devising a plan from his hospital bed to have Jonathan poke holes in his father’s rubber waders, never realizing that the water would make the boots so heavy that he would be unable to leave the baptistry for the remainder of the service.
Never mind that. It had created another spontaneous moment for which Ben’s father had become famous — a moment in which the pastor bared his soul to his congregation about his fear of Ben’s approaching death, and yet his joy over the final resolve of Ben’s long-standing struggle to believe.
Have you ever heard from God? Answer this email and let me know. It’s happened to many people. God speaks in many ways. Sometimes it comes through an audible voice, sometimes through an impression in one’s spirit, sometimes through what you can only explain as an angel speaking through a person who was there one moment and gone the next.
I heard from Him as a teenager in my car, having just experienced a genuine spiritual visitation in my youth group at church, and returning to my car where the radio came on to the Beatles, and feeling the music was not appropriate, I was nevertheless prevented from turning the radio off by a physical force and a conversation in my head which basically concluded, “Write me the music you like.” That would keep me pretty busy for the next 30 years or so.
God speaks to us in many different ways. Think about it. I’m sure He has spoken to you. Maybe you just didn’t realize it was Him.
GO LIVE by making a contribution today!
We are $330 short of making Mike Boland’s $5,000 match!
That means we will be at $10,000, halfway to our goal!
Help us get there and beyond!
For the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward —
to everyone, everywhere!
Click on the green light to contribute!
And don’t forget to join us when we Go Live at noon tomorrow (Pacific) for the next reading of Saint Ben. Be a part of this live audiobook with discussion to follow.
(Click on the picture to link to our zoom room at noon.)
Leave a Reply