Page 122 - Evidence of Things Unseen

The Storm Comes

ust before moving to our home in Montezuma a thought came to me one day, that I
Jrejected as being from the Father. The thought was that God would not release His
provision for us in our new home until I had shared the gospel of Christ with my neighbor
who lived across the street. My neighbor was a divorced man, close to my own age, who
lived alone, though from time to time his two children would come and spend time with
him. I had spoken to this man on a number of occasions when we would meet outside, but
I had never spoken to Him about the Lord, or about his soul.
Not all saints are given the ministry of an evangelist, but all are called to evangelize.
A parallel truth is that not all saints are called to the ministry of a prophet, but Paul says
“All can prophesy.” I had never considered evangelism to be my ministry gift, and whereas
I speak to people about the Lord nearly every day, most of them are professing believers.
I knew in my heart that part of my lack of evangelistic effort was a result of a deep,
ingrained fear in my life. It was a fear of man that was unhealthy, and which had been
keeping me in bonds in certain areas of my life. Yahshua came to set the captives free, and
He desires that we be free in every area of our life.
I convinced myself that the thought which had come to mind regarding speaking to
my neighbor was not from God, but that if I saw a golden opportunity before I moved I
would speak to him. My neighbor was a very congenial person, and not one that people
would consider gruff or intimidating. I never found a time to speak to my neighbor before
we moved, though this was largely due to the fact that I was not looking very hard.
I had received a financial gift from a brother in New Zealand on April 23rd, and this
was the last support I would receive for an entire two months and two days. (Again we see
22 in this, and the Father was using this lack of provision in a profound way to remove some
flesh from my life.) I had paid a month’s rent when we moved to Montezuma, this being for
the month of May, and as June approached I began to get nervous for no support had come
in.
I had received a refund from the state of Georgia soon after moving, but the money
went quickly with the cost of moving, paying utility bills up to date, purchasing clothes and
other essentials for our family which had been pending for some time, and also giving some
of the money away as the Spirit directed. When June arrived I had no money for rent and
the anxiety this produced in my soul was greater than any other time I could remember. In
a parallel to the spiritual buffeting I was experiencing inside, the weather continued to be
stormy, and, in particular, very windy on a nearly continual basis. My anxiety had begun to
build during the last week of May, and when June came with no provision in hand the
storms were at gale force in my soul.
I continued to struggle to stand in faith and to look to the Father for His provision for
us, and some days the battle would rage the entire day. Fears of angry landlords, and
anxiety over being reproached for not paying my bills in a timely manner weighed upon me.
The thought of being evicted terrorized me beyond all sound reason. I did not know why
these fears were so strong in my life at this time, for they had never been before.
On June 2nd I had been experiencing a demonic buffeting all day long as fears and
anxieties were coming against me. In a direct correlation the wind blew hard all the day and
I could see out in the yard the trees bent over against the assault. The wind outside was so
ferocious and unrelenting that the trees rarely straightened up the entire day. This was a