I found myself standing in a group of hungry supplicants. The
evangelist had called us forward. The old year was about to pass away, and the
new one was coming in on the wings of an early winter.
But it was “warm
and toasty” where I stood that night. We stood in a circle around our pastor,
praying for both him and ourselves. It was a time of recommitment and
expectation.
The sermon had been
absolutely absorbing. The emphasis had been on Elijah and Elisha. Most veteran
Christians have heard of these two. It seems that Elisha had a curious habit of
following Elijah around wherever he went. For he sought a blessing; not just
any blessing, but his expectation was for a double-anointing. He was determined
to be twice the spiritual man Elijah was.
We waited in
hushed silence as the visiting minister prayed for each of us, and then turned
to our pastor. We were admonished to stretch out our hands towards our pastor,
and I felt a hand on my own shoulder. Someone behind me was using me for a
conduit, as I reached my own hands towards our parson.
The touch was
comforting, as the prayer reached its conclusion. But, even now the hand never
moved. In fact, it never wavered. The weight of that hand remained, and that
seemed peculiar to me. I debated turning around, but turn around I had to. As I
turned my head, my mouth dropped in disbelief. There was no one behind me! And
yet, the weight of the hand remained.
In fact, I sensed
the hand on my shoulder all the way back to my pew, and throughout the closing
prayer, and into the church parking lot, and all the way home, and for minutes
after I arrived home!
Now I’m not one to
take the supernatural for granted, since it’s been a present, but rare thing in
my Christian experience. God spared my life three times, and in each
circumstance he saved me by a strong right Hand. Another time I was “Slain in
the Spirit,” and fell like a timber onto a hard wood floor. I never felt a
thing!
His Hand certainly cushioned my fall. Later a frail, but
famous evangelist stretched out his hand and straightened my little boy’s eyes;
yielding his hand to the Hand of the Creator. A mentally-ill client spent a
year under my own care, and left restored, her symptoms gone like leaves in the
wind. The Almighty still has His Hand on this precious servant.
At times I can
still sense The Hand on my shoulder. It is still early to draw a conclusion, but
I have no doubt about the meaning of the experience. I received a double
blessing that night. He has appointed me for a task,
… and He has given me the wherewithal to do it.
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