This past Friday night, as I pondered the presence of June 22nd being only 10 days away (as it were at the time), I wondered if God had anything He wanted to tell me.I opened my Bible and flipped through its pages randomly. At moments like this, my heart is soft and malleable and open to whatever God wishes to show me.
I've done this before, you know. If you've been reading my blog for the last year, you'll know that God has presented me with the same theme and (many times) the exact same verse repeatedly, no matter what Bible I use and even if a Bible is not in front of me. His message to me seems undoubtedly clear. He has used the imagery of preparing a field for harvest, by explaining that nothing should be done in the first two years, but that the third year is meant for sowing and reaping.
Wondering what else He might wish to say to me before this beautiful 3-year period is up, I started to flip the pages again.
And lo and behold, the pages stopped flipping when I encountered Deuteronomy Chapter 16. There, beginning with verse nine and continuing through verse 17, the words spoke of harvesting that which was planted. In particular, the words spoke about counting seven weeks from the time that one begins to harvest until the time of pure celebration in the form of a harvest festival, where one was to give a freewill offering in thanksgiving to God.
And it spoke about sharing your joy, not only in a place of worship (church), but with everyone in the town, including children, workers, foreigners, orphans, and widows. This command, the text explained, must be obeyed, lest we forget that we were once enslaved by sadness.
Wondering if God had anything more to tell me, I continued to flip the pages of my Bible, being gentle so as to be receptive to any hesitation on the part of any pages toward flipping, so as to not overlook something which the Holy Spirit was prompting me to read.
And the next verse I encountered was from Second Kings, this being Chapter 19. This seemed quite familiar. Beginning with verse 29, Isaiah says to King Hezekiah the following:
"Here is a sign of what will happen.
This year and next, you will have only grain to eat.
But the following year, you will be able to plant your grain
And harvest it, and plant vines and eat grapes.
"[You] who survive will flourish like plants
That send roots deep into the ground
And produce fruit."
And so I snapped some photographs to show you how the pages simply refused to fall until I read them. That is how I took my cue from the Holy Spirit as to what I was to read!
And look at how He surprised me with the very same verses that relate to my situation!
So neat! Thank you, Jesus!
