In 1990, during a 12-month break between two pastorates–what most call unemployment–I kept a journal recording what was happening, what I prayed would happen, and what I feared might happen. Below is a little reverie from that time when I was praying for the next pastorate, worrying whether there would be a next one, and anxious to get on with it. In this piece, I imagined the Lord stepping in to answer our prayers.
God said to Gabriel, “This guy has me cornered.”
“He came when I called him to the last church and served where I sent him. He turned down a bigger opportunity and a hundred thousand dollar bribe to see a difficult situation to its conclusion. In the process, I showed him the 66th psalm.”
Background: One night in the middle of our firestorm, Margaret and I had sat on the back porch reading Scripture and talking. I began to read Psalm 67. Quickly, everything inside me said, “No. Psalm 66.” Now, I could not have told you the difference. One psalm was the same as the other. But I read Psalm 66 out loud, and we were amazed. We saw the Lord was sending us a message. In verses 10-12, He perfectly described our situation.