The days ticked off
the calendar fast as the July date approached for our first revival service. I
became consumed with preparation. I prayed and prayed. I did not sleep well
often waking in night watches to pray more.
At some point during all this I received
a burden from the Lord to write a 40 Day devotion to be given to the members to
help prepare them spiritually for all that God wanted to do. Only trouble was I
did not have time to write in the office due to other responsibilities and
hospital visits. Time was also running short to get anything into print.
I could not shake the burden. I knew
I had to obey. So I took a three day prayer/writing retreat to a secluded spot
I have often slipped away to for such times in the past. I go to a two bedroom
wooden cabin located on a private ranch and nestled up to a pine grove on one
side and a 90 acre lake on the other. The cabin is off the beaten path. It sits
surrounded by rolling hill pastures, the pine grove, and the lake. It is one of
my favorite spots in the whole world. I have retreated to this cabin at least
once a year for two decades. It is sacred ground. Holy ground. A place where I
meet with God.
The task before me seemed
impossible. To write a 40 day devotional in less than three days seemed like a
herculean task. I cannot adequately describe what happened. I wrote night and
day. I often wrote up to midnight. I would sleep for three to four hours and
then get up and write some more.
God inspired those writings.
Devotion thought after devotion thought came.. I would get a scripture in mind ,
study the passage and write the devotional material. When I thought I could not
possibly come up with another I would take a break. I took prayer walks or ate
luch with a friend. Then I got back in the chair and pounded that keyboard. One
day after another of devotion material flew on the computer screen. I saved the material and then
would tackle the next day’s material.
Before I knew it I completed days
one through ten and then ten through twenty. By the time I got to day twenty I
was exhausted. I saw no human way to complete the devotional in the allotted
time.
It had to be God giving me
inspiration, endurance, and anointing to write. My wrists ached, my eyes hurt
from looking at a computer screen so long and my brain wanted to take a break.
By God’s help alone I finished the
project before returning to Seminole. My
mind was mush. I sent the project to a couple of ladies to proof and
edit the material because I did not have the energy to do it. And on top of
that, the proofing and editing part of writing is my least favorite part of the whole writing process. I owe those laides a huge debt of gratitude.
One lady took it upon herself to
take the finished product to a Kinkos to have over a hundred copies of the book
printed and spiral bound. One of the great miracles of that whole preparation
phase was the writing and printing of that book.Only God could have doe that.
We were able to make it available to
the people just before 40 days before the first service. I challenged people to
fast from something during those 40 days. The type of fast was between them and
the Lord. Some fasted from food. Some from certain types of food. Some from
television. Others from social media. I heard of teenagers going through that
book, families, and many people in the church took the next step in preparation to encounter God during the revival meetings.
I count those 40 days of the church
coming together seeking God in the same way as a crucial component of what God
did among us. Those devotions are available on this blog site. Go to July 2010 and you should be able to find them. I no longer have any more hard copies.
I pray the Lord will use it many times over in preparation for His work in other
places until the end of time.
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