"Crock-Pot" Experiences
January 10, 2012
Over the weekend, I received a phone call from someone, who was quite candid in telling me the details of a situation, which involves not only this person, but others as well. The person who called me is not saved, I don't know about the others. As I listened, I was very disturbed by what I was hearing. After hanging up the phone, I was so troubled by it. The more I thought about it, the more the self-righteous Pharisee rose up within me, condemning and judging both this person, and the others who are involved, whom I don't even know.
The next evening, I received another call from the same person, this time, going further into details. In both conversations, I just listened, and as much as I wanted to, I didn't offer any input on what was being spoken. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't want to speak something that was out of myself and not the Lord's speaking. Eventually, feeling that I needed to say something, I said, "I'm not going to give you my opinion one way or another, but I will tell you that over this period of time, without me knowing your situation, the Lord had been placing you upon my heart, and I have been praying for you". I wanted to say more, but, I felt that was all that I had. The person then abruptly ended the conversation. When I got off the phone, now having heard more of the details, I was even more upset than I had been with the previous call, and I told the Lord exactly how I felt about the whole situation! After letting me go on for a while, the Lord stepped in, with verse after verse, showing me His heart for man. Among the verses which He spoke to me was, "I came to seek and to save that which is lost", "Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners", and, the parable of the Father's continuous watching for the younger son who had joined himself with the citizens of a distant country, squandering his estate by living dissolutely. I felt that the Lord was speaking to me, "This is My heart for man, for man to be saved". As the Lord spoke these verses to me, I had to repent, "Lord, I am no different than this person. I too am a sinner who has been saved by Your mercy and grace." It was really the Lord coming to me. With my heart turned & softened, I then prayed according to the Lord's heart for all those involved, quite a difference than how I had prayed before! Through this whole process, I actually felt encouraged, not by the situation, but by my coming to know the Lord Himself. I felt He had revealed Himself and His heart to me. To me, I felt that this was something of the experience that Mary had, which we have been fellowshipping over these past weeks - that the Lord's words had gotten into her, and although at the time she might not have understood the meaning of these words, they were there in her heart, and became the catalyst for her to pour out the precious ointment to anoint the Lord's body for His burial. For myself, through this experience, I realize that something of the Word really has gotten into me, little by little, drop by drop. I may not understand what I'm reading at the time, and often, I feel that I read in such a "fast food" way that when I finish reading, I wonder if anything had gotten into me. Still, the Lord has placed that word into my heart that He might use it to speak to me as He did this weekend. That evening, when He spoke to me, I truly felt that I came to know, love, and appreciate Him in a way that went beyond the written word, yet, I needed the word in order that He would be able to speak to me, just as Mary did. I am also prayerful that the little word which I spoke to the person might be a seed for the Lord to use later, and that even through it, the Lord could somehow use it for all the other ones who are involved in the situation. J.G.