The Spirit at Work in Believers, Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You

John 14:18a,26 says “I will not leave you orphaned…The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all I have said.” … 
Our first story comes from The Hiding Place, the biography of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian whose family saved a number of Jews from the Nazis, and were themselves arrested and put in concentration camps. In telling about their lives under Nazi persecution, Corrie shows how God the Holy Spirit was with them and comforting them, and performing miracles that were seen and experienced not only by them but also by their fellow prisoners. God protected the precious little Bible that they with God’s help were able to keep with them for some time in their captivity, and He made it possible for them to hold Bible study and worship – turning the circumstances of evil into a sacred place. 

God dwelt with Corrie and her sister, and though sometimes Corrie became overwhelmed by the difficult trials, her sister would always speak the Word into her and pray. 

At the women’s concentration camp at Ravensbruck, one of the miracles the Spirit used to confirm Christ’s presence with them relates to a small bottle. Betsie, Corrie’s older sister, was sickly during much of her life, and required daily infusions of vitamins to help strengthen her physical frame. Under the Spirit’s watch, Betsie’s vitamins had been smuggled in and preserved. Corrie would put a drop or two of the liquid vitamin onto Betsie’s daily black bread ration. 

It would be daily that The Spirit moved more of their fellow prisoners to thirst for Bible study and worship. Hearing their prison mates from different nationalities translate the Bible words being read so that others could understand was like divine music. 

And it would also be daily that Betsie was moved to share her small bottle of vitamins with other ill women, starting with one or two women, then the number kept growing. Corrie was worried that all of the vitamins in the small vial would be used up, leaving her sister without. Yet, the more generous Betsie was with the drops, the more the bottle filled. Corrie was amazed! The small bottle should have given up its last drop after only a few days, but the more the medicine was needed, the more it would come from the bottle. 

Like with the widow of Zarapheth who gave the prophet Elijah a room in her home, whose oil and meal were almost gone but by God’s miracle through Elijah, she never ran out of meal and oil, and survived the famine in the land. 

The miracle of the never-ending vitamin drops were a source of awe to the women being helped by them and a turning point for their faith. That divine delivery continued for a while until one day a fellow prisoner obtained a large supply of vitamins and yeast compound, sharing it with Corrie. Corrie was grateful to God for this windfall. She happily took enough for Betsie, thinking maybe they should finish the small bottle of vitamins first. 

But, when she got back to their bunk and Corrie took out the small bottle and tipped it, nothing came out. No matter which way she turned it or how hard she shook it, not another drop appeared! 

In many such ways the Spirit continued to move in their lives even in those persecutions, working in & through them to save others for Christ, even enemies. They were just regular people, old women who had given themselves to Christ, learning how when younger to submit and depend on the work of Christ’s Spirit. They and their family are now with the Lord, but the accounts of their living by the Spirit still lead others to Christ.

The Still Small Voice

Listening to the winds of Hurricane Sandy brought this to mind just now. When Elijah was on the mountain in the cave hiding out of fear of Jezebel and her forces, a very tired possibly discouraged or despairing Elijah needed the reassurance that his God was more than a word on a scroll, greater than a hero in a story.

Elijah didn't seek out this reassurance, but his all knowing God in heaven knew Elijah's true need at that moment. It wasn't a hiding place from evil people - what he needed was a confirmation that his life spent as a prophet of God wasn't for nothin'. Wasn't just another life to be snuffed out by an enemy of Jehovah. Not a dot on the immensity of time, nor a mindless tool of a puppeteer god. No, an A grade was not what Elijah needed. God wanted Elijah to know that he was of more worth to God than all the rubies, gems, precious metals, any and all treasures ever to be seen by man. God gave him a gift of Himself. And this gift was given in an extraordinary way.

God brought him out onto the face of the mountain - an experience which was incredible in its own way - man against a mountain. Then God passed by Elijah! The New American Standard Version actually includes an exclamation point after that sentence - underscoring the significance of that moment. There was a great wind that ripped by Elijah - who was no doubt being protected in a supernatural way by God from this windstorm - it was so fierce it must have sounded like 10 x 10 times squared the roar I'm hearing outside my window now. The wind shattered and imploded parts of the rock face all around Elijah. He already knew God to be of infinite power and yet it was being demonstrated again. Then an earthquake occurred that shook the very foundation of the huge mountain, and still Elijah is protected and sees and experiences God's omnipotence first hand without a single bone being damaged! After the earthquake, a fire - a consuming force that could 'eat' its victims in a moment. God must have pushed Elijah back away from the fire into the mouth of the cave, for we next read that Elijah emerges from the cave again. Yet God did not make Himself known to Elijah in any of these all powerful occurrences. These were God's calling card, so to speak, to get Elijah's attention for the real encounter God would have with him. It was in an intimate whisper - a still small voice - that God made himself known to Elijah. God brought Elijah into a personal relationship with Himself, a moment in time like no other Elijah had known where he - a mere man - was allowed to commune with God. God saw through Elijah's fear, frustration, and despair, transporting him to a place of complete contentment that he would experience with God. From that point forward Elijah would grow in relationship with God in a special way until the time he would be taken up into heaven to never experience death like every other human has.

We often want God to make Himself known to us in big ways - a huge material blessing or a huge healing. And He may do that if that is His will and method for getting our attention. A whisper, though, requires one to get close enough to utter it and the hearer close enough to hear it. God chose to make Himself known to Elijah at this time in his life in such a way. It is always in a personal way that we come to best know God and experience who He truly is. We can experience the omnipotence of God in glorious and wondrous ways, yet the encounter God knows we need is a personal one with Him. So God still speaks in a 'still small voice, in a whisper', to his servants. He still sets as His ultimate goal for us a close, personal relationship with Him. His Spirit in us testifies to us of this intimacy. He whispers to us through His Word, in silent moments of meditation and prayer in which we are reassured of His presence in our life and circumstances. Obviously, His omnipotence is certainly representative in the thrashing of the winds and the copious downpours. Yet, it is the intimacy with Him that He seeks with us where we really 'see' God and know His love for us. A close and trusting relationship that we can count on for the rest of our lives. A true peace and joy that knows I am His and that I can enjoy His best for me forever.

God, I will praise you in this storm, for I know You and You know who I am. (borrowed from the hymn by Casting Crowns "Praise You in This Storm")