Monday, April 20, 2009

Have you ever had a "God Moment"?? Read this!!

I just received this story in an email from a church friend and wanted to pass it along. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


HAIRBRUSH EXPERIENCE OF BETH MOORE AT THE AIRPORT



For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she is an outstanding Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters.


This is one of her experiences:
April 20, 2005, at the Airport in
Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord.
I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.

You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.
Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego.



I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least Sixty pounds heavier.
His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat
hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and
bones.
The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him
Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.
I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!'

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair
begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll
do it on the plane.' Then I heard it.... 'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.'











The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said,
'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this

man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to

a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if

he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.'

Again, as clearly as I've ever heard an


audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind.


'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to

witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.'

I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a

hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I

supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?'

God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to

walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from

God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)



I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens

and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as

demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?'

'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

To which he responded in volume ten,
'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder

than that.'

At this point, I took a deep breath and
blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which

point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the

room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead

breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his

face, and say, 'If you really want to.'
Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to.

But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then.

He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be

pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.'


'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that
wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and

unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing

what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the

old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled
and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling

knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or

Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.
A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared.

There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me.
I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.
I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life.

I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my

heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.


The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.

I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do'

Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until
I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'


Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a

divine moment when we're completely unaware of the

significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those

rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in

details only He could have known. It was a God

moment, and I'll never forget it.

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same

plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier

and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.


I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?'



I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!'
And we got to share.


I learned something about God that day.

He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place

or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if

you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a

wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you

as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way .. all because I didn't want people to think I was strange.







God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

Please share this wonderful story. 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!'


IN GOD WE



TRUST

17 comments:

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

I saw this woman tell this story on t.v. one day -- it's certainly an amazing story - very touching!

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

That story is so Beth Moore. I think her hair brushing was a modern day version of foot washing.

Nancy Rosalina said...

Oh Kim, thank you so much for sharing such a wonderfu story! Very touching!!!! Nancy

Kristens Creations said...

Hi Kim, What a moving story! God works in mysterious ways. Kristen

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

Even though I've heard Beth tell this story in one of her videos, couldn't stop crying after reading it. God takes such good care of His children.

Sofia Striffler said...

What a great story. I had never heard that one before.
Also I purchased the chain cover from a local design store called At Home design. I also saw it today at a decorator's fabric store called Furbelow's
Sorry for leaving you hanging!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Beth Moore is an absolute wonder, and though I've heard this story before, I loved reading it again. It never gets boring, and it always makes me wonder what opportunities I have missed to do God's work. Thank you so much for sharing it. laurie

Beth in NC said...

I love this story! So precious.

Beth in NC said...

Thanks for your comment Kim. :o) You are absolutely right. I do switch up my plan. I do the Firm which is cardio and weights. I switch different firm plans to keep my body guessing. The only thing I'm not doing is more cardio at the end. Thanks for that tidbit!

Love,
b

Stacey @ The Blessed Nest said...

What a wonderful story! And a great reminder to obey the voice of the Lord! :)

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Just awesome story Kim...thanks so much for sharing this with us..I loved it...May you have a blessed day dear friend...Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Megan said...

That is an awesome story and we serve an AWESOME GOD!!

thanks for sharing, you have a great blog!

Free Art Printables said...

That's an amazing story!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Beth Moore is amazing. I always find a testimony in her words. She has such a gift.

Laura said...

Left you a surprise on my blog.

Laura

Miss Laura Lu/RMS4291960 said...

Oh Kim! I don't know how I missed this! Yes, I have had God moments! This story is so incredible and Beth Moore does such a fantastic job of relating the feelings that come with those moments! It really does seem so our of character and such the wrong thing to do that your heart just races with the job He is compelling you to do! Thank you so much for sharing! God Bless! Lauralu:)

Ldy ~~ Dy said...

Thank you for sharing this story...it was beautiful!