From my journal, 21 years ago…
After my seminar yesterday, a woman approached me to discuss some “personal problems.” Her name was Suzanne. We sat and talked. It was about her marriage and, from her perspective, her husband.
But as we talked, it became clear to her that her husband wasn’t really the main issue. Her heart longed for something deeper than her husband could provide. Eventually she realized she was really hungry for a relationship with Christ. I told her I could see that she had a heart filled with love for Him and He for her, but they had never been united because she had never said, “yes” to His many overtures of love.
The light came on! “Please, can I invite Him in now? I really, really want to,” she said. She was practically begging. She now clearly understood what she needed to do, and she wept deeply as we expressed her desire together in prayer. Afterwards we embraced. And it was such an embrace! One I had rarely experienced from anyone before.
By this time, I had missed lunch and she felt guilty for having delayed me. I shared Jesus’s words from John 4:32, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” And she got it! We both smiled. Indeed, we smiled and laughed a lot afterwards. “I feel so good,” she said. She was a new creature. She even looked different. The oppression was gone. The circumstances of her marriage hadn’t changed but she had.
As we left, she gave me one last hug. I was awakened once again to the need the world has for Jesus.
Addendum for today: Though that kind of intense encounter is rare, because most people are neither that aware nor as ready as was Suzanne, the God-hunger of the human heart is universal. May God bless us today with gratitude for the grace that caused us to open our hearts to Him and with compassionate prayer for those who, like Suzanne, have yet to say “yes” to Him.
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