MIRACLE #4
This miracle piggy tails off of the previous one, but in a much more spectacular way. Instead of taking 24 hours, this was immediate! Let me set the stage.
The night this happened was a late Sunday evening, about 11:30pm. I'd just returned home from an amazing night at church. The church van had dropped me off in the driveway and had left. I was headed to the back door to let myself in when I discovered I didn't have my key. I checked the door and found it to be locked. I checked it again and found the same. I walked around the house to check all of the doors and windows. I found them locked as well.
Next, I went to the back of the garage, found a ladder and used it to climb up to the second story. I checked all of the windows. Unfortunately, they too were all closed and locked.
Finally, I climbed onto the roof of the house and checked all of the windows and doors. They were all locked.
I then came down off of the ladder, put it back where I found it and rechecked all of the first floor doors and windows. All of them were locked.
I thought about breaking a window to get inside, but I wasn't that brave. And then I thought about walking three miles to a relatives home to stay with them, but that's when I felt another "unction." This time, the message was clear:
"Do you believe ME? Do you believe My Word? If so, get down on your knees and pray. And then trust!"
So, right there, on the back porch, I got down on my knees and prayed. I asked the Lord to open both doors for me - because there were two doors that needed to be unlocked.
After I finished praying, I got up off of my knees, walked over to the door, turned the knob and......POP, the lock unlocked and I was able to twist the knob and open the door. The same thing happened with the second door!
Man, this felt like something straight out of the Books of Acts chapters two, three and four! I was so ecstatic at what had just happened that I called a friend to tell him. As it turned out, I had awakened him because it was a little after midnight!
What happened to my key? It fell out of my pocket and onto the floor of the church van. Someone found it the next day.
QUESTIONS
After reading about miracles one, two, three and four, what are your thoughts so far? What questions come to mind? Email me if you'd like to talk or have comments/questions.
MOVING ON
I remember sharing this story with a martial arts student several years ago. As it turned out, this student was an atheist. Upon hearing the story, he was quiet for awhile. Then he blurted out:
"THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN! YOU MADE THIS UP!"
I assured him it did in fact happen.
He blurted out again, "WELL, YOU'RE JUST EXAGGERATING TO MAKE THE STORY SOUND BETTER! I KNOW THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN TO YOU!"
I countered, "You're so confident it didn't happen that it sounds like you were there. So since you were there, please tell me what actually happened that night!"
To my remark, he became quiet and pensive. Finally, he said, "I didn't say I was there, but there has to be some other explanation for this happening. I can't believe in any sort of god who would do something like this!"
I concluded our conversation by saying, "Well, it did happen just like I told the story. If you choose not to believe it, then OK. I'm not going to force anything down your throat."
With that, we continued our lesson and never talked about God or religion again.
For me, Miracle #1 felt like a game changer. I now knew God existed and that He cared for me. Miracle #2 sent me down a path I had no intentions of ever going. Miracle #3 opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed. And now Miracle #4 felt like the cinnamon, on top of the sprinkles, on top of the applesauce, on top of the cherry, on top of the frosting, on top of the cake, on top of the cake stand, on top of the counter! It was definitely OVER THE TOP - because it challenged everything I thought I knew about God and life in general. Does it challenge you and/or your beliefs? Does it make you think differently about anything?
I hope this article - for all Believers - has been insightful! And, I pray it causes everyone else to have questions. If you'd like to talk or ask questions, feel free to email me here.
Thank you for your time.
In His Name,
Roy