Vessels

Knock, knock, knock. "Sir, please help me!" A request that always got the attention of this man of God. The woman pleading for his assistance was a widow. But not just any widow. No, her husband had been what was called a Son of the Prophets. He had been a godly man, one who loved and served the Lord with his whole heart and life. 

But now his widow was in desperate straits. She told Elisha that the creditors were about to take her two sons as slaves unless she could pay off the debts she owed, but all that she had in the house was a pot of oil. "Then he said, 'Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.' So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, 'Bring me yet a vessel.' And he said unto her, 'There is not a vessel more.' And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, 'Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.'" (2 Kings 4:3-7)

What was the limit to the amount of oil she ended up with to sell? The number of vessels she had available to fill. What is the limit to the amount of power God can pour out upon this world? Could it be that He is limited by the number of vessels we make available for Him to fill?

It's time to stop limiting God, to stop postponing the glorious homecoming. Let's make ourselves available as vessels for our Savior to fill with His Spirit so that this work can be finished quickly and we can go home!

A Living Sacrifice

"That ye present your bodies" (Rom. 12:1).
"'Lend Me thy body,' our Lord says. For a few brief years, in the body that was prepared for Me, I delighted to do My Father's will. By means of that body I came into contact with the children of men -- diseased, weary, sin-sick, heavy-laden ones. Those feet carried Me to the homes where sorrow and death had entered; those hands touched leprous bodies, palsied limbs, sightless eyes; those lips told of My Father's remedy for sin, His love for a prodigal world. In that body I bore the world's sin upon the tree, and through its offering once for all my followers are sanctified.

"But I need a body still; wilt thou not lend Me thine? Millions of hearts are longing, with an indescribable hunger, for Me. On that far-off shore are men, women, and little children sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death -- men who have never yet heard of My love. Wilt thou not lend Me thy body, that I may cross the ocean and tell them that the light after which they are groping has at last reached them; that the bread for which they have so often hungered is now at their very door?

"I want a heart, that I may fill it with Divine compassion; and lips, purged from all uncleanness, wherewith to tell the story that brings hope to the despairing, freedom to the bound, healing to the diseased, and life to the dead. Wilt thou lend Me thine?"

(adapted from Springs in the Valley, page 265)

Lord, here I am. Use me as Thou wilt.

Blessed indeed!

We just finished Week of Prayer here at Ouachita Hills. The Beatitudes (Mt. 5:1-12) is always a favorite topic, but there's always more to glean from those verses. It made my heart sing to see a fresh glimpse of my Father's love for me. But the best part was Friday night.

Friday night the speaker made an appeal for baptism. Several students responded, including two of my academy girls! As the congregation was leaving the meeting hall, one of my girls came to me trying hard not to cry. She could hardly speak for the struggle. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, torn as to whether it was too late for her to join the group who had responded for baptism. I asked her if she wanted to go join the small cluster that had formed around the speaker and pastors. She clung to me for a minute, her eyes, swimming with tears as she struggled. "Go join them," I whispered to her, "It's not too late."With a smile peeking through her tears, she joined the ones who had made their decision that night. Another soul enlisted under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel!

Sometimes I've wondered if I am being an effective worker for God. I can't point to large numbers of people who have surrendered their hearts to Christ as a result of my work. I can't even point to a lot of people who have gone to the mission field because of my work. By those standards, my life and work have been complete failures already. But Friday night, I realized that, in reality, no one can really claim to have led "so many" people to the Lord. Each person's conversion is the result of uncounted numbers of times God sent someone to work on that person's heart. "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase" (1 Cor. 3:6, 7). What a privilege it is to watch God work in the hearts of those around me, but especially in the hearts of my younger brothers and sisters! And I'm so thankful that God stoops to encourage us, even when we shouldn't have doubted in the first place.

Learning to Sing

"In the full light of day, and in hearing of the music of other voices, the caged bird will not sing the song that his master seeks to teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of that, but never a separate and entire melody. But the master covers the cage, and places it where the bird will listen to the one song he is to sing. In the dark, he tries and tries again to sing that song until it is learned, and he breaks forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the light. Thus God deals with His children. He has a song to teach us, and when we have learned it amid the shadows of affliction we can sing it ever afterward" (MH 472.2).

Sometimes trials surround me.

I feel like a bird in a cage.

The darkness presses around me.

I can sense the devil's rage.

But then I hear through the darkness

A song that is new to me.

A song of trust and deliverance,

Of faith that the sunshine I'll see.

I sing, for the song tells my story.

And now the plan I can see.

My Master knows just how to teach me,

For in the darkness He drew close to me.

Lord, teach me to sing in the darkness

The song that You want me to sing.

So when the daylight comes again,

The song will glorify my King.

A Pressing Question

My days have been filled with classes, homework, music lessons, and deaning. Life was getting settled back into the OHC routine (whatever that is!). I had just finished lunch and logged into my email account. "Hmm. I have an email from Mrs. Clark, the academy principal. Why did she email me?" I wondered. I was floored with the contents of her email. 

Rebekah,
Is your passport still current?  If so, would you be willing to serve as the female sponsor on the mission trip again this year?

Mrs. Clark

The female sponsor?! In other words, the female staff! I was stunned. Last year I went with the mission team to Cuba and served as the female staff. I wanted to go back to Cuba as soon as I heard they were planning another trip there this fall, but I knew I couldn't raise the money to go as a student and I didn't think they'd send me as a staff member a second time. As I read and reread the email, objections weakly vied for mental space with excited plans and precious memories. Would I be willing?! My questions were the finances, the deaning and, most important of all, God's will. I asked my friends to pray for me as I had a big decision to make. I know what the challenges are if I accept. I know what will be required of me as the female staff if I were to go on this trip. Last year, the other staff and I worked past our endurance and dearly paid for it. Yet I loved the challenges, I loved watching God work despite our weaknesses, and I wanted more than anything to answer YES!! to Mrs. Clark's email. But did God want me to say yes? All of this flashed through my brain in the first few seconds after reading the email.

Then other thoughts came. You owe it to your academy girls to stay here: the dean is in a courtship and, although she doesn't have her head in the clouds yet, she probably will by that time and the girls will need you. You're tired from your service this summer and you'll be exhausted by the end of the semester. Remember how things went last year's first semester: the first few weeks the girls were angels but by the end of September/beginning of October they had lost their halos and wings; you can't leave the dean to deal with that alone again. You're having a hard time keeping up with your studies and assignments as it is; this will overload you. And then the really nasty one: When you went to India, one grandfather was killed. When you went to Cuba last year, your other grandfather died. You didn't get to say goodbye to either one of them. What will happen this time? That last thought was counter-productive for the devil. You see, I view myself and my family differently than he does.

I am not my own. I hold myself ready to do whatever my Savior asks me to do, to go wherever He asks me to go, and to be whatever He asks me to be. I am not my own, to live my life as I please. But I am discovering that as I yield my will to Him, He refines and purifies me. The result is that His desires become my own, His will becomes my will, and His plans become my joy! My family is in His hands. How can I influence them to yield to Christ if I myself do not yield? How can I influence them to surrender and to joyfully obey His every wish if I do not joyfully and willingly obey His outright command? God will bless my work for my family as I do what He asks me to do. I would rather lose years with my family on this earth and yet have eternity with them and others, than to spend these years with my family and have others miss out on eternity that I could have reached with the gospel. Both of my grandfathers loved the Lord. I know I will see them again if I am faithful. 

I told the Lord I had relinquished all claim to myself. I chose to be like the ox on the old Roman coins: ready for either service or sacrifice, whichever my Master chose for me. I asked for the following things to fall into place if He wanted me to go: (1) the finances and (2) the dean's approval. 

Last night I talked to the dean, Abby. Her response? "Rebekah, go!" This morning I checked my email again. "We would pay your way as the staff." I had my answer. And now, I can hardly wait for November! Another adventure begins... :)

Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;

Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;

Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,

Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.

Pressure by foes, and a pressure from friends.

Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.

Pressed into knowing no helper but God;

Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.

Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;

Pressed into faith for impossible things.

Pressed into living a life in the Lord,

Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

               -Streams in the Desert, page 156

The Backpack

I don't remember exactly how old I was, maybe about 12. I was crying myself to sleep one night for some reason, feeling as if the world rested on my little shoulders. I don't remember what started my tears, but I do remember wishing with all my heart that I could get rid of the heaviness in my heart. The problem was that I didn't know how. No one had told me. In fact, my guess is that no one around me knew the answer themselves, at least not well enough to explain it to me. Finally, I fell asleep. And as I slept, I dreamed...

I peeked around the corner of the empty hallway, terrified that someone would find me and scold me for being there. But I didn't know where I was or where I was supposed to be. And the backpack I had on felt soooo heavy! I saw an open door close to me and I felt drawn to look in. As I peered around the doorframe, I saw a small room. The only furniture in the room was a plain wooden chair in the center of the room. A man was sitting in the chair. All I saw was his eyes. They were so kind and gentle. Then he smiled at me and held out his arms. It was Jesus! And He wanted me to sit on His lap! But I stood, frozen to the spot, because I knew I couldn't climb on His lap. Not with the backpack. The backpack would get in the way, but I didn't know what to do to get rid of it. Oh, how I wanted to sit on His lap! I walked up to Him, but didn't even try to climb in His lap. Then the thought impressed itself on my mind: "Bekah, give Me your backpack." I looked at Him, and He took the backpack. Then, with the tenderest smile I've ever seen, He picked me up and held me in His lap. He didn't just let me sit on His lap. No, He held me close to Him, just like a parent holds their child close to their heart.

When I woke up, I knew what to do to get rid of the heaviness in my heart. The dream stayed with me through the years, the Holy Spirit reminding me of it whenever I struggled with how to surrender: "Bekah, will you give Me the backpack?" Recently I've been hearing several people talking about surrender. From friends, to teachers, to classmates and academy students, many people were struggling with surrendering or telling how God had called them to a surrender of something in their lives. Thursday night I had evening worship for the academy girls and I told them the story of my dream. Last night (Friday night) as I was saying goodnight to my girls, one of them told me, "Goodnight, Miss Rebekah! I hope you have another dream about sitting in Jesus' lap." As I walked away, I began to ask God, "Lord, is there something I haven't surrendered to You that You're trying to help me see? This topic keeps coming up. Is there a reason? What are You trying to tell me?" I didn't like the answer that came. I hadn't realized that particular issue was in my backpack, so to speak. But I chose to give Him the backpack again. What peace! 

Friend, what's in your backpack? Whatever it is, give your backpack to Jesus. It's the most precious experience in the world!

At His Word

The story is told...

     Napoleon was once reviewing his troops near Paris. The horse on which he sat was restless, and the Emperor having thoughtlessly dropped the reins from his hand in the eagerness of giving a command, the spirited animal bounded away and the rider was in danger of being hurled to the ground. A young private standing in the lines leaped forward and, seizing the bridle, saved his beloved Commander from a fall. The Emperor glancing at him said in his quick abrupt way, "Thank you, Captain." The private looked up with a smile and asked, "Of what regiment, sir?" "Of my guards," answered Napoleon, and instantly galloped to another part of the field.
     The young soldier laid down his musket with the remark, "Whoever will may carry that gun; I am done with it," and proceeded at once to join a group of officers who stood conversing at a little distance. One of them, a General, observing his self-possessed approach, angrily said, "What is this insolent fellow doing here?"
     "This insolent fellow," answered the young soldier looking the other steadily in the eye, "is a Captain of the Guards." "Why, man," responded the officer, "you are insane; why do you speak thus?" "He said it," replied the soldier, pointing to the Emperor, who was far down the lines. "I beg your pardon, Captain," politely returned the General, "I was not aware of your promotion."
     To those looking on, he was still a private, dressed in the coarse rough garb of a common soldier; but in the bold assertion of his dignity, he could meet all the jeers of his comrades and all the scoffs of his superiors with the ready reply, "He said it."


That soldier took a man at his word. True, that man was the Emperor Napoleon, but he was still a human. If someone can take another human's word as so being of such authority, why are we so slow to take Christ at His word? "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus / Just to take Him at His word ... Oh for grace to trust Him more!"