Years ago, I remember Jeff Walling telling a story about a time he was baptizing a man in their church's baptistry. As he was about to immerse the man into the water, saying, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” he began to lower the gentleman. At that moment, as the prayer left Jeff’s mouth and the last bit of the man’s head went under the water, the man’s eyes shot open while under the water!
In typical Jeff fashion, he paused, crinkled his face in wonderment and thought about the gift of the Holy Spirit. He said to himself, “Well, why didn’t I get that?” He lifted the man, thinking about what spiritual insight this new believer would give him. Instead, he learned a valuable lesson on baptismal etiquette. You could imagine the shock of the man trusting his preacher, literally relaxed in his arms during this sacred experience, to immediately experiencing a near concussion as he was bumped on the steps of the baptistry! Twenty years after hearing that story, I can’t help but think of that more often than I should during our church baptisms.
We shouldn’t be surprised that God moves in a way that is shocking and life-changing. I love to picture Jesus’ baptism and John’s realization that Jesus was the Word in the flesh.
We read in John 1:14–16:
[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me.’”) [16] For from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace. (ESV)
I’ve seen the Holy Spirit work through so many people’s lives and I’ve actively prayed for many situations, asking the Lord to heal. I shouldn’t be surprised by the Lord’s goodness, but I’m shocked every time at his depth of kindness.
Recently, we have been praying for a family who has someone dealing with cancer. It got severe and this individual was put into hospice. About the time we thought we’d be hearing the tragic news, we found out that he was getting better and a scan revealed that his stage 4 cancer had disappeared! God had answered the prayers of so many! I felt relieved for him, but humbled by my lack of faith. My prayers were for healing but I wanted to be realistic and pray for the natural order of things. I wanted God to comfort the family, after seeing so many others deal with a very different outcome.
I’ve also seen God’s plan in the little things. He’s working for his Kingdom, not our desires. He knows what is good for his children even if we can’t see it. I want the faith of John—his excitement and his unwavering dedication to our Lord. I don’t want to be shocked when I see God move in surprising or miraculous ways.
My prayer is that we look to the Holy Spirit to move us into a posture of excitement for the grace we’ve received!
Written by Randy Jones, International Aid Director