Kristina Ramirez Jordan
One of the churches that I was a member of when my daughter was young and I was a single mother had an evangelist come and preach a revival meeting just about every year. One year when the evangelist came to preach, he brought with him an old, beat up, dirty, portfolio style briefcase. I'm sure it was what he carried his sermon notes in. Most of the people in the church probably didn't even see it, or know it even existed, because the evangelist didn't carry it up to the pulpit with him. I, however, as the church organist at the time usually sat on the second row of the church so that I could slip up to the organ quickly and quietly for the invitation hymn. The first night of the meeting, when I came down from the organ I saw the briefcase lying on the front pew. I saw how worn and dirty it was, and that there were holes wearing through on the corners. As I looked at it, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me to buy him a new one. I thought about this and struggled with it, and even went to the office supply store to price a new briefcase. I argued with myself and with the Lord's Spirit about doing something like this. I was a single mother and could barely even pay my bills or keep food on the table for my daughter and I, so how could I ever afford to do something like that. Finally, by the end of the revival meeting I still had not bought a new briefcase for the evangelist. The meeting ended and the evangelist went on to his next meeting, and I let the thought of what God told me to do completely escape my mind.
For the next year I went on about my life and doing the things I normally did. However, I could not for the life of me figure out why things weren't working out as they should. I was going to church, giving my tithes and talents to the Lord as He wanted me to and trying to live my life as pleasing to the Lord as I knew how. Yet for that year I seemed to be struggling to get by even more than usual as a single parent. My daughter seemed to get sick more often, my car broke down more often, and things at work seemed to come to a complete standstill as far as raises and overtime were concerned.
I was so discouraged with the way things in my life were going, that I was not even looking forward to the revival and the evangelist coming in the next few weeks. Though I was not mentally or spiritually ready for revival, I went. What do you think I saw lying on the seat of the front pew? You guessed it, the same dirty, torn briefcase, older and dirtier by another year. As soon as I saw it, my heart broke as I heard the Lord speak to my heart. In that moment I realized that the things that had been going wrong for the past year were the result of my disobedience in one small area of my life. Needless to say, the next day, I was at the office supply store pricing briefcases. As I looked at all the different ones the store had to offer I thought about the words of a song I heard that says; sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, will keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. These words came to mind, because as I stood there looking at the shelves, I saw the same briefcase I had seen a year earlier at a higher price than if I would have bought it when the Holy Spirit first told me to buy one.
I made my selection and paid for it, and then still fought a battle inside myself. I wanted to just put it on the front pew with an anonymous note to the evangelist, but the Holy Spirit kept telling me that I needed to give it to him in person and confess my disobedience. I fought this battle the rest of the week and by the last night of the revival I still had not given it to him. The Lord had the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear, " Do you want another year like the one you just went through?" I got my nerve up and went to speak to the evangelist. I told him the story and all that had happened to me and then I asked his forgiveness for not doing it sooner.
The Lord was trying to show me some things about obedience, and when I finally passed the test, the Lord blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. During the next year I received a raise at work, and my daughter and I did not get sick, which allowed me to have perfect attendance at work. But the best blessing was one that was shared with two other single mothers in the church. We all had problems with our cars, and they were on their last leg, or tire if you will, but during the next year three cars were donated to the church and then given to us.
The Lord taught me that obedience, even in small areas, can bring about great blessings, and not always only for you but for other around you also.
Comments