The New Normal
My Dear Friends,
We were in the season of confession of sins for several weeks before a deeper work of repentance was experienced among the congregation. Now there was an expectation developing and much prayer, individually and collectively.
The confession of sin brought increased awareness of the wonder of God. It broke us down and lifted Him up. We began to wonder why the sins that caused us to stumble were no longer there. Where did they go without our effort? (Ephesians 2:9) However, the permanency of my cleansing within was about to be evidenced without. A new normal was coming to my life (2 Corinthians 5:17).
One evening, while preparing my son for bed, the Lord spoke: “I will awaken you early in the morning.”
I carried my secret until I went to sleep. At 2:00 a.m. our baby cried, but when I ran to his room I found him sound asleep. The Lord spoke again: “That was your alarm clock.” I went to my red armchair and reached for the closest Bible (a big one) that a minister left in our home months before.
I let the pages open where they would, which is not always the best way for guidance. Romans 13:11 was all I could see: “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
I knew favorite verses of the church and how to prove what I believed, but this Bible was different. This Bible talked. It talked to me about something as personal as sleep and also that a new adventure in my spiritual life was beginning. All I know is that an infusion took place (1 Corinthians 6:17).
Sometimes when you attempt to articulate a divine encounter, the strength of it is defused. I have read similar stories with a variety of terms: the Filling of the Spirit, the Abiding Life, the Abundant Life, the Crucified Life, the Sanctified Life, and the Exchanged Life. Peter defined a similar experience as being a “partaker” of the divine nature.
My view of God, the world, people, the devil, and myself drastically changed. There have been many subsequent times when a new side of God was made real by the whole consent of my will and the progressive work of the Holy Spirit.
A couple hours later, I put the talking Bible on top of my school papers and went to bed.
The Lord woke me at 2:00 a.m. for five years. I moved into the kitchen and spread my Bible and notebooks. I was insensitive to time.
When Peter declared at Pentecost, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16), he had instant interpretation of the Old Testament and knew that Joel’s words were now. I had a “now” filling of all I read. It was no longer words on a page, but it was applied with Spirit and Life for the present. The application of it was with me all day and I knew what to do. The Spirit of the Book and the Spirit in me were one. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17).
I could not take a chance that another Bible would talk, so the Big Talking Bible became my constant companion. I didn’t write in it, but I filled reams of paper and notebooks with Scriptures and revelations God gave.
I’m sure I was a mystery to my fellow teachers with the Bible under my arm every day. I opened it on my desk to steal a verse very often.
I broke the rules by asking my students if they knew what salvation was. A third grader, Larry, raised his hand quickly and said, “I know!”
“Tell us, Larry.”
“It’s a truck that comes around and picks up old clothes.”
“That’s a start, Larry.” Soon they initiated prayer requests. “Pray for my daddy. He got drunk last night.”
For a while at home, Don had to tolerate my answering his questions with Scripture. He was experiencing his own new normal also. We often passed each other; when I was going back to bed, he was getting up to pray.
One early morning, while reading Matthew 4:4, the Holy Spirit said, “This is the normal way you will conduct your life: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” What already began was increased daily as I worked out my salvation “with fear and trembling.”
Pop Polston used to say, “When a thing is normal for you, it’s yours.” That’s true and it works positively and negatively. The way you know you have the truth of the Scripture is not by word only, but also by the Holy Spirit Who makes it applicable in the best and worst situations of life. It was Jeremiah who said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them . . .” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Love you dearly,
Ruth Ann