What
about the “days of your youth” do you yearn for? If you could
turn the clock back for one day, which day in your youth would you
like to relive? Why? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary
Edition, page 1182).
(--From
blog of February 9, 2012--)
Personal
Gethsemanes are characterized by a sense of foreboding that
excruciatingly painful, tough times are ahead. Nevertheless, the
divine presence is palpable accompanied by the sense this is God’s
will and entails his purpose for one’s life—that he will be with
one throughout and that after long tribulation will come victory.
This occurs when one is alone; when God is having a private time with
his servant. It becomes an unforgettable set piece and portends the
future in general rather than specific terms. My personal Gethsemane
occurred on the University of South Florida campus in 1965. It was
towards dusk in the parking lot of the humanities building. I was
walking across the lot and was stopped dead in my tracks. I found
myself alone. I sensed the presence of God and the love of God. It
was like a father sorrowfully warning me that unspecified tough days
were ahead, sad days; but he would be there with me throughout the
journey and that joy would await on the other side. In the following
years I was frequently in over my head. I was jailed for opposing
the Vietnam War; I endured tough times at universities and felt
somewhat alienated; I intentionally moved into a neighborhood that
was full of unacceptable tragedies; I underwent repeated episodes of
mental illness; I felt stymied in my career and sensed the
inexorable passing of time. Yet joy has come to characterize my
life. After drinking from the proffered cup, in many ways I have
experienced victory and have been given a gift of peace. I feel that
God had a job for me to do, and that I did not shirk from it. One
could approach his later years with a lesser sense of faithfulness in
pursuing assigned tasks.
The
personal Gethsemane described above is the point in time I would most
like to relive. It was a moment full of sadness, yet of great
promise. It was not only a Gethsemane moment but, because it was
filled with promise, an Abraham moment as well. It was a one-on-one
with God. In years since I have felt the closeness and the reality of
God many times, but these times have had more of a routine
maintenance aspect and lacked the landmark covenant character
encountered in 1965. Thus, it is here that I must in gratitude erect
my Ebenezer. ([ Meaning of “raise my Ebenezer”]http://www.housetohouse.com/BibleQuestions.aspx?Letter=all&Question=4234)
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