OUR FATHER’S PERSISTENT LOVE MINISTRIES
“AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE”
My Dear Family in Christ,
Ever precious greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is my great honor and privilege to share my heart with you once again. Not too long ago, Debbie and I had a little work done in our home. A very good friend and brother of ours, Neil, came over to help us put a few book shelves in our living room. Neil is a huge blessing to us. He is always so very helpful and servant-minded toward us in all things; and he supports our work in the prisons to boot! He has discerned that we are older now; thus sympathizing with our weaknesses, he knows we can’t do things quite as well as we once did. Honestly, Neil has mercy upon us, and wonderfully, in the Kingdom of God, mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)
Debbie and I are both lovers of the God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), Spirit-filled (Jn. 6:63), Life-giving book of God (Jn. 10:10). As God’s very Word (Jer. 15:16), from His heart (Mt. 12:34b) in heaven, He sent it purposely down into time (Isa. 55:10-11) so that we might know Him (Jn.17:3), and the power of His resurrection (Rom. 1:4), and His future plans concerning all things good and wonderful (Eph. 2:4-10).
Debbie and I are also students of the Word. Thus, our books are all about the Book, and we needed a little more space and order concerning them. So Neil, in love, donated his heart and time in making us each beautiful bookshelves respectively. In the course of a day, with him as the boss and me as the helper, we were able to get quite a bit done. During the installation, while screwing the shelves into the wall, unbeknownst to us at the time, I missed the stud and hit the drain pipe for our toilet upstairs! Oy vey! We eventually finished the shelves, and they looked like a new hundred-dollar bill! Yes, everything from the outside looked beautiful! Little did we know, we had big problems we could not see yet!
I was sitting in my chair that evening rejoicing in my heart at the goodness of God! He gave us the shelves through Neil’s expert craftsmanship, and I was gloating. Then Debbie went up to take a shower. That was the beginning of the revelation. As she was showering, I heard a strange sound I had never heard before – trickling water from behind the wall. Suddenly, I was not relaxing anymore, but thinking, “Uh-oh, what is that?” I tried to play it of as if it was nothing. Against all evidence, in my mind I was lying to myself and hoping my lie was true. The situation was right before me, yet I was still in denial. I was refusing the truth in the face of light – I had missed the stud! The longer Debbie showered, the more prominent the dreaded trickling became! Finally, I had to embrace it – we had a big problem! Yes, a leak behind our new shelves! Commiseration began, and my rejoicing suddenly turned into mourning. I had come to terms with the ramifications of the dreaded trickle, though I had no clue as to what it would ultimately reveal. . .
Sovereignly, if you can believe it, we already had a plumber scheduled to come the next day to fix the kitchen sink! I know – how is that possible? (Lk. 1::27) But, that’s just how the Lord does things around here. When the plumber got here, unbeknownst to him, he had already been pummeled with hours of prayer. Thus, he was extremely helpful and patient. We first addressed the sink issue, for which he had come. And, as you may guess, soon we also lovingly addressed the gospel issue with him, for which (in the big picture) he had really come.
Next, I showed him where I thought the leak was behind the wall, the new shelves, and all that had transpired therein. I ran upstairs and turned the water on. Sure enough, the dreaded trickle spoke its piece, diagnosing the leak. We were able to settle on a price, and the next thing I knew, all of the furniture was pushed out of the corner, and he was methodically ripping out the Sheetrock trying to spare the new shelves in the living room! Neil had installed those puppies, and they were battened down as if prepared for a hurricane! Soon, he discovered the root of the problem – a couple of screws had indeed missed the stud, piercing the drain pipe causing the leak. In the process, as he stripped it all down, he also discovered a leak from the upstairs toilet! What! By grace, after this vexing revelation, he soon fixed the toilet as well as the leaks in the pipe! The yet gaping holes in the Sheetrock awaited Neil’s return and his skilled expertise. Daily, though, until it was finally patched, the gaping holes in the walls testified, “Philip, you missed the stud!” Finally, Neil came and fixed the Sheetrock perfectly. I then painted it, and boom – it was finished!
It is written, “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.’” (Daniel 2:20-22)
Upon reflection, Debbie and I soon realized that we would have known nothing about the nasty toilet leak apart from the dreaded trickle! If it hadn’t been for those two screws missing the stud and hitting the pipe, all that filthy drainage behind the scenes would have just built up over time behind the wall. It would have rotted the wood causing massive water damage and mold. Who knows what that nightmare would have cost? So, after much sanctified consideration, Debbie and I were determined to praise God. Missing the stud and hitting the pipe had revealed a much deeper issue that we would certainly not have discovered any other way!
Wonderfully, for us too, mercy does triumph over judgment. Even as I had missed the stud, we also can miss the mark. As God used Neil to get to a deeper problem behind our wall, so the Lord gave us His Spirit to reveal the deeper issues of our hearts. It is my strong contention that to get to the root, we must first be lovers of the Word. Do you look like a new hundred-dollar bill on the outside, but inside the wall of your flesh there is a nasty, sinful leak? Is it building up? Do you have a big problem?
Let the dreaded trickle speak its piece, diagnosing your heart. Have you come to terms with the ramifications of your dreaded trickle? The Lord will use the lesser to reveal the greater because mercy triumphs over judgment! Therefore, let us not refuse Light by denial, but embrace it. Beloved, is there a gaping hole in your walk? Is it daily testifying, “You have missed the mark!” Deal with it now, and boom – it will be finished! Because. . .
“THAT’S JUST HOW THE LORD DOES THINGS AROUND HERE!!”
JOYFULLY IN JESUS,
LOVE, PHILIP
“REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON AS IF CHAINED TO THEM.”
