Sunday, October 26th, 2003 - Awesome Weekend

So many awesome things happened in a row this weekend that I decided to mash them all together in one post. I am going to attempt to stick to the main points so that it isn't too unbearably long.

In light of my last post, I took a large part of my day on Saturday to get away from everything and lay many ponderings at God's feet. This extended time helped me to begin a series of many prayers seeking God's counsel mainly in my choice to transfer schools but also in many other areas as well. I also continued the study I have been doing for some time now on the 6 historical books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. I just started 2 Kings, so I guess you could say that I am about halfway through it.

I love 2 Kings 4 - the entire chapter. I could write on and on about this section of Scripture and what God showed me through it. The first section (v. 1-7) tells a story of a faithful, poor widow who listens to God's prophet Elisha in pouring olive oil from a single flask into many jars, filling them all. God affirmed here that He is faithful in response to our obedience, even when He calls us to do abnormal, unusual tasks outside of our normal routine or comfort zone.

Next (v. 8-37), God blesses an older, childless couple with their first child because of their hospitality toward Elisha. The child dies after he has grown for a time, so the mother seeks Elisha out in distress. Elisha goes into the room where he lays dead and lays his body across the child's body; eye to eye, hand to hand, mouth to mouth. The child starts to get warm, Elisha gets up and walks around, Elisha lays on him again, and then the boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes. Okay now, just a minute...

I imagine myself in Elisha's shoes when God told him to lay down on the child like that. First, if it wasn't God telling me to do it, I would think that it's really sick and wrong, especially since the child was dead. So I imagine that Elisha may have been hesitant to do it, but he does anyway; the child starts to get warm again, and Elisha backs up off him. I think it's possible that he was a little freaked out, so he paced a little to regain his composure. Still, remaining obedient to God, he gets back on the boy, and God revives the boy to life in a frenzied burst of flying snot directly into the face of Elisha. God does amazing miracles through us, but sometimes we don't like some of the other effects that come along with them.

In the last section (v. 38-44), a bunch of hungry prophets are looking for food during a famine. The second of two instances is more profound for me, where a small amount of food is multiplied to feed all that were present, with leftovers. This last section most vividly concludes a theme in this chapter: parallels of these events to other more well-known stories in the Bible. The first and last sections are comparable to Jesus feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. The middle section resembles at first Abraham and Sarah and the miraculous birth of Isaac, and later the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I could elaborate on this whole chapter so much more, but I've given it ample enough attention here.

I crossed a landmark later on Saturday night. By the conversation and encouraging of a dear friend (who is helping to keep me accountable), I opened up a textbook and "read the material" for a class for the first time; yes, I ventured into the land of "studying." I think it is a greater act of worship to use the academic gifts that God has given me to more fully understand the subjects that I am studying. This is the first time that I have actually wanted to improve my study habits, rather than just knowing that it would be to my benefit to do so.

Sunday morning, I was blessed to have my parents and younger sister come up to visit me. We spent time going out to and shopping for a jacket, but the most memorable time for me was going out to this place called "Park Point." It is a beach-like area where we went to watch the waves of Lake Superior roll in against the shore. Sharing such a tranquil time with those closest and dearest to me, absent of the usual wandering thoughts, encapsulated something special which cannot be caught in words, and any attempt to do so would such pitify the experience, lacking it justice. And of course the many hugs that were shared - I love them so dearly!

Sunday night, I also had the privelege to talk with one of my best friends who has lately been exploding with passion, seeking God on a whole new level. I was encouraged by the love I saw in this person's heart and the peace they described to me amidst their current situation. After the conversation, as my roomy was already fast asleep, I stood in the middle of dorm room. I felt a wave of something sweep over my body and felt a strong surge of peace and comfort. I know that God did that possibly for no other reason than to tickle my senses, yet it caused me to feel His presence all around me. This was a little bit different since lately I haven't been feeling God but growing in perseverance and faith that He is ever present and closer than ever before no matter what I'm feeling.

This has been just a glimpse at an overly edifying (if that's possible) weekend.

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