Illuminated

And He illuminated their minds so they would comprehend the scriptures.    Luke 24:45

Yes – this is one of my absolute favourite verses.  Ever heard of the saying “the minds eye” or "having a light-bulb moment"?  When a place is illuminated is become bright and filled with light.  That is what I saw when I read this verse as a new Christian.

Darkness replaced by light.  

Truly comprehending the scriptures with the guidance of the Holy Spirit – what a gift!  

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It reminds me of a pivotal time in my journey with God when the scriptures became more alive than they ever had been.  To me – seeing our faith lived out in everyday life is real and beautiful.  It has always been the small things that carry great weight.  The smallest answered prayers seem more powerful because God heard and God cared enough to hear them despite the billion people on earth with all of theirs – it didn’t matter….

He heard.

I can think of so many personal stories, small (big) moments and God orchestrated encounters I have personally experienced along the way –but there is one that still gives me goose bumps…

One night after church Rick and I were about to make our weekly trip back to the Gold Coast.  We were newly married, running a youth ministry in Logan city and both working & living on the coast. I was pregnant with our first child & we had just taken in a new Christian who was moving into our unit with her young son. We were in the front and she was in the back with her son.

It was raining steadily, and we had the radio on – chatting about the service.  We were about halfway to the coast when the car hit gravel & started to leave the road. Rick tried to correct it but the car ended up spinning around so we were driving 90km backwards next to cars (who were driving in the right direction) and slowly veering off the road into the middle ditch.  It all happened in slow motion.

We ended up landing in the middle ditch of the highway sideways & backwards so the force of impact sent us into our seats rather than forwards.  The doors flew open and in pitch darkness a heap of mud splattered over us all.  Our new flatmate was in shock with her leg stuck in the mud.  Her young son was unharmed – we later discovered his seatbelt wasn’t on when the accident happened. The car was a write-off.

Rick ran to get help and we sat in the dark, covered in mud, dazed but just with a few bruises and scratches.  The ambulance & tow truck came and we eventually were able to head home – soon in our warm beds, safe & alive.

About 8am the next morning I received a phone call from one of my best friends – who lived in England.  We hadn’t told her anything, but she started the call with “Jen, what happened – are you ok?”  I told her about the crash & that we were all ok and she started to Praise God. 

It turned out that at the precise time we had our accident she was on her knees (on the other side of the world) interceding for us both.  She didn’t know what happened – but she was in tune with the Holy Spirit enough to be obedient and pray God would intervene in whatever we were facing.  He told her to pray for us at the exact time we needed prayer – and she heard. 

Praise God that her mind had been illuminated with His word.  Praise God she was obedient to His voice.   

When you read the word He gives you ears to hear & eyes to see.  He illuminates (one translation is ‘reveals’) the Word to us so we see clearly when before we were blind.

Life makes more sense because we are eternally minded.   We become more receptive to His voice.

There are a billion stories of His goodness and faithfulness despite great obstacles and impossibilities – this is just one of them.  I call this His divine, unexpected and Holy Spirit inspired intervention.

I'd like to think that when it comes to the race (of life) I am running I can see clearly what is ahead of me.  That the obstacles ahead of me would also be illuminated, and my path would be lit up so brightly that even when I do trip -  I wouldn’t go off track.   My prayer is that I would see clearly and not stumble in the dark without sight or understanding.

I'd like to think that my eyes would be opened to His will and to the God ordained moments (like praying for someone) that each day holds.

Let’s pray that this week we seek Him above all else – and that our minds would be illuminated with His word.

But the path of the just is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until it reaches its full strength and glory in the perfect day.   Proverbs 4:18