This book, Go Now, is filled with bold faith and miracle stories from the head hunters in the northern Philippines to Communist China where Wendell and his wife Daisy, made over 1000 border crossings with suitcases filled with Bibles. Wendell gives you an intimate inside look at how God worked deep in his heart rescuing a discontented young man and crafted him into an effective tool for His service. Now, onto post #8 of 9.
Pastor Derstine stopped and said, “Wendell, just invite the Holy Spirit to fill you. Say it out loud as if He is actually right here with you.”
Without hesitation, I whispered, “Holy Spirit, please fill me,” and I meant it, from the bottom of my heart.
At that moment, something happened. How can I describe it? It was as if that strange and wonderful bubble that had enveloped me suddenly went inside of me. It was like inhaling a most wonderful aroma. It it filled the very core of my being. It was sweet powerful and warm. It was love. How do you describe something indescribable? How can you explain something that has no earthly comparison, something that can only be understood by experiencing it?
Someone has called it liquid love, and yes, perhaps that could begin to describe what it felt like. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to do anything to cause this to ever end. I drank long and deep of His presence, like a deer that longs for streams of water. That long season of thirst that had been haunting my soul found real gratification as I was immersed, baptized, into God’s very presence.
The people who brought Pastor Derstine to the meeting threw our bikes into the back of their old van and drove us back to the Voluntary Service Center. The tension and the anticipation for the past 24-hours was now eclipsed by the life-giving encounter with a loving God. I carried this deep in my heart as I tumbled into bed later that night. I still had many unanswered questions. In fact, there were more questions than ever, but I figured I could ask Pastor Derstine about those in the morning.
Sleep evaded me as I lay on the bed through the night hours. I was being drenched in the God’s presence in a way that seemed to put me in a euphoric state. I had full assurance that everything was going to be alright in my life. Doubts that had plagued me were now non-issues, washed away by the unquestionable level of reality that can only be comprehended when a human encounters a living God. I was certain this amazing experience was the one sure thing that would lift me out of all the brokenness of my past and set me on that path of purpose that had been so elusive up to now. I just knew it.
In the morning, I found that Pastor Derstine had left on an early morning flight. With him flew the answers I had hoped he could give. Yet with a new confidence, I felt sure that from now on I would have easy access to those answers.
BOTTOM LINE:
Little then did I know or understand the amazing way God works in a person’s life. Little then did I comprehend what kind of upheaval I had just opened my life up to, that the Holy Spirit Himself was about to lead me into. The One who was now pouring so much love into my soul was about to begin demonstrating His love in other ways; ways I would not understand or appreciate, at least not for many years.
“After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. (Matthew 3:16 – 4:1 NLT)
To be concluded tomorrow.