2 wonderful things happened in the following order:
Friday, we, as in over 800 students, were recording the "crowd" vocals for the new worship CD they are producing here at Bethel. This meant there was no band, no worship leader, no onstage vocals. We had to sing along with a CD... epic, right? My exact thoughts were, "I wonder if I could get some school work done right now, especially since this is going to be the most amazing worship service we have had all year!". Let me also add that the CD being used was mixed so that our voices would stand out on the recording.
For those who don't understand the significance of this, let me explain. Put your favorite CD into your CD player. Find the thickest pillows in your home. Duct tape them to the front of your speakers. Turn your volume up about half way. Begin to worship. If you don't have all the words right in front of you, you may, at multiple times, wonder where in the world the song is currently at. Now add 800 people to this choir. Also, add the fact that you can hear yourself and your neighbor singing clear as a bell. And, you can't sing like Jeremy Riddle, or a dying frog for that matter. Glorious!!!!
Yes, I thought it was going to be a big chug of toilet water. But, God just doesn't stop surprising me. Worship started, and with the first strum of the badly muted guitar His presence dropped like a bomb on the whole place... to a CD!!!!!!!!!!! What the Heck! Near the end of the first song everyone was ready to blow up, Jeremy Riddle (who was at the front to give direction between songs) was weeping on stage, us students were being consumed from the inside out, His presence was tangible. The song ended. The choir of voices didn't. They actually grew louder, we actually grew louder. Once again, no worship leader, no band, no amazing vocals. A badly mixed CD, desperate people and the Love of Father. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Sufficed to say worship was a staggering experience! What came next was even more fun, for me!
I felt this urge to sit down, even though my spirit was exploding inside of me. After sitting down I felt the urge to put my arm around the woman sitting next to me. Her name was Anglus. She was in her early fifties. Moments after putting my arm around her shoulders I felt an intense burning in my left knee. I didn't have to guess what it was, I immediately knew. I could feel the excitement quickly building inside of me. I turned my head towards Anglus and asked her if she was having a problem with her left knee. She was a little surprised, yet, surprisingly, I wasn't. She proceeded to tell me how she recently had her right knee replaced, but now her left knee was in bad shape. No cartilage, bone on bone, painful to move around. This is where it gets funny or weird, however you want to look at it.
I knew I was supposed to pray for healing. But, while I was praying God frightened me. I felt like He wanted me to whack her bad knee! I'm thinking,"Come on! Really! This seems absurd!". An immediate struggle arose within me. To smack the disabled woman or not. My pride and my reason were screaming at the top of their lungs, "Don't be a fruit loop! Don't do it! For our sake, DON"T DO IT!! God doesn't need you to whack the poor woman for it to happen... YOU'RE CRAZY!". On the other side was my spirit, "Whack her Justin! Give that knee a hardy smack boy! What are you waiting for! You want to see her healed?! SMACK HER! I SAID, SMACK HER!!!" I gave in to my spirit. I whacked Anglus' bum knee! After asking permission of course. And, Yes... she did smile a bit nervously when I asked.
After giving that left knee a good what for, I looked up at Anglus and she was crying. Oh my God, I hurt her! Not really. She told me it felt a lot better. She was quite excited to go use it and try it out. I checked up on her yesterday and she told me there was no pain left! Sweet day in the morning! Didn't see that one coming!
And now for the whole wallet bit. I lost my wallet at a park filled with homeless people on a Friday. Realized it on a Saturday around 5 pm. Frantically drove to said park and, with poor wifey in tow, searched the whole field where I had been playing frisbee. Upon feeling frustrated with my inability to locate my precious wallet, I asked God, "You know where it is, can you make this easy and give me some direction?". I stopped walking immediately, turned around, and made a b-line to the other side of the field. I literally landed on my wallet! I walked in a straight line to my wallet on the other side of the field! CRAZY! You may not be excited about this, but I sure was/am!
See ya:)
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