Angels of Humility: A Novel (6 page)

Pastor Hall had also helped Sarah understand that what she’d called “her premonition” all her life was really a gift from God called prophecy. He gave her some scriptural examples
⁸
and explained the difference between someone who is a prophet, which is rare, and someone who has a prophetic gifting, like Sarah, which is much more common.

“The Lord will put words or an impression in your mind about what He’s thinking about another person. Prophetic ministry just means passing these words on to the person God intended to hear them at a particular time. These words are to strengthen, encourage, and comfort.
⁹
God can speak in many ways, but most of the time it’s just an impression. A thought comes to you that isn’t yours. The apostle Paul said that we should earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially prophecy.”
¹⁰

At first, Sarah was equally excited about her prophetic gifting, but after sharing some of her impressions with a few of her Sunday school class members and getting the cold shoulder, Sarah backed way off. She couldn’t have known that they wouldn’t receive a prophetic word from
anyone
who was a brand-new believer or a new member of their class. After all, many of them had attended that church for well over 30 years.

She continued getting impressions from the Lord about people, but after the chilly reception from her Sunday school classmates, and after reading in the Old Testament about how Joseph’s family got angry with him for the same thing,
¹¹
she decided that sharing her impressions would only get her
in trouble. Joel and Malta encouraged Sarah to act on these words from the Lord, but with no results. They even tried to encourage receptivity among the members of the Sunday school class, but they had too much spiritual pride to listen to a new Christian.

Paul was in the church office every day the next week, going in early and leaving late. Kathy unpacked all the boxes, arranged as much of the furniture as she could, and with gifts of grace from Valoe, only let one sarcastic comment slip. As she was unloading the last box of books, she noticed a book on humility by Andrew Murray. I
always wanted to read this, and I never got around to it. I think I’ll start this today
.

“Excellent choice,” said Valoe with a huge smile. “Excellent choice.” She plopped down on the couch, but before she could begin reading, Paul came through the front door. He looked around. “Wow, honey! What a job you’ve done. Look at the family pictures on the mantle.” He pulled her off the couch and gave her a big hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more help. I’ve been so busy getting settled in at the church. But you have done a great job, you really have!” Paul’s apology released the resentment that had been building in Kathy and she hugged him back.

Now that everything was unpacked, the little brown Tudor-style house with the peeling paint was becoming a home, at least a temporary one. Fortunately, very little remodeling had been done over the years (probably for lack of finances), and much of the home’s original charm was still intact. The rich oak trim had not been painted in the entry, living room, or dining room.

The living room was dominated by a gray stone fireplace and on both sides were glass front bookshelves which Kathy had carefully decorated with books and well-placed knick-knacks. Family photos and aromatic candles lined the dark-stained mantle.

There were three bedrooms, which allowed Paul to have an office. Jordan’s bedroom, on the second floor, had a sloped ceiling which followed the roofline. His closet door was only about 4 feet tall. The roof continued to slant down inside the closet, forming a small, triangular shaped room—perfect for a little boy’s hiding place.

Jordan was a generally happy, chubby toddler with his mother’s brunette curly hair and his father’s good looks. Although it was totally undeveloped, Jordan’s prophetic gifting allowed him to sometimes sense the presence of his angel, Hael. This large, jovial guardian was constantly saving Jordan from scrapes, bumps, spills, and multiple boo-boos.

Kathy loved being a mother, and she constantly doted on Jordan. She frequently split her time between household responsibilities and imaginative games.

“Mommy, Mommy, you can’t find me. I hiding again.”

Kathy finished transferring the clothes from the washer to the dryer and prepared for an all-out search. They’d played the game dozens of times in the small dorm room. She headed down the hall toward Jordan’s room, checking other rooms as she walked.

“I bet you’re in the bathroom. No. I bet you’re in the hall closet. No.” She entered his bedroom. “You must be in the sock drawer,” she exclaimed, pulling the drawer open to Jordan’s delight. Muffled laughter escaped from under the closet door. “No, not in the sock drawer. You must be in the bookshelf. I know, you’re on page seven of
Good Night Moon,”
More laughter emanated from the closet. “Why didn’t I think of it before? You’re obviously
under the bed. Well, there’s no Jordan here. Where could he be? I know, the toy chest! I bet you’re under all the toys, inside the hand puppet. NO!” she said, in mock frustration. “You’re not in the hand puppet. Where could you be?” She sat on the floor and buried her face in her hands. “I think Jordan went away. I can’t find him anywhere. That makes me so sad. Oh, boo hoo!”

The closet door flung open. “Mommy, I right here!” he shrieked as he ran and jumped on her lap. After plenty of tickles and hugs he chirped, “You go. I hide there again,” as he headed for his closet with Hael, his smiling guardian angel, tip-toeing behind.

Sunday morning arrived. Paul had spent the week preparing the sermon-to-end-all-sermons. It had to top last week’s, and last week’s was one of his best. He’d used it for finals in his preaching class.

“This is your chance to shine,” whispered Pride. “You’ve worked hard all week on this sermon. You know it backward and forward. Show ‘em your stuff.”

“Paul,” said Saldu, “it’s always about pointing people to Him; it’s not about your reputation. If they leave talking about your great wisdom instead of what a great salvation they’ve been given, then pride has overtaken you, the people have been robbed, and the devil has won the day.”

Paul felt conviction over his giddy anticipation of a stellar performance. Then he shrugged it off.
I‘ve worked hard on this sermon all week; there’s no reason I can’t look good as well as give deep teaching about the Lord, too
.

Starting his sermons with a joke was something his favorite seminary professor had done, and Paul had carried on the tradition. It seemed to help form a bond with the audience. How can you not like someone if you just laughed at his joke? Paul had the perfect joke to go with his text; he’d even prayed for just the right one. But he couldn’t have foreseen that the Lord was going to use that joke to truly change someone’s life.

Paul grabbed the lectern with both hands. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and scanned the congregation. I
think there’s a few more this week; that’s always a good sign. Lord help me
.

Joel and Malta were seated on either side of Sarah, who was sitting by herself toward the back on the left side of the church.

“A wealthy man strikes a deal with God. God agrees that when the man dies he can bring one suitcase, filled with anything he chooses, with him to Heaven.”

“Oh, this is a good one,” said Joel. “Have you heard it?”

“No,” replied Malta, with a grin, “but, if you’ll be quiet, I will.”

“The man spends weeks pondering what he should take. Maybe diamonds and jewels; maybe money. After much thought and agony, he finally decides he will take his gold. One day he dies, and when he gets to Heaven he has his suitcase. St. Peter tries to take his bag, but he insists he has permission from God to bring the suitcase and its contents. St. Peter checks with God and then tells him, ‘Yes, you can bring the suitcase into Heaven. This must be very special. What did you bring?’ The man proudly opens his suitcase. St. Peter takes a step back in shock and says, ‘You brought pavement?’”

All but two of the congregation roared. Wilma didn’t laugh because she’d already made up her mind she didn’t like Paul, and therefore, didn’t approve of anything he said, funny joke or not. The other nonlaugher was Sarah. With the help of Joel and Malta, the joke pierced her spirit. She was being touched in such a powerful way that she didn’t even hear the rest of Paul’s sermon-to-end-all sermons. She could see his mouth moving, but was totally distracted by the punch line, “You brought pavement?”

“That’s right Sarah,” suggested Joel, “what must Heaven be like if God lines the streets with what humans consider their most valuable asset? Think of it this way, Fort Knox is crammed full of heavenly pavement. All the material possessions that you hold dear will eventually mean nothing, less than nothing; they are totally insignificant. When you die, you’ll leave them all behind.”

Her Bible was laying on her lap opened to Matthew 6:19–21.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Malta whispered, “Life on earth is a vapor, Sarah. Everything here will pass away. Don’t invest in the wrong kingdom. You
will
leave it
all
behind. You should be investing all you have, all your time, all your energy, everything for Him. Remember, you can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.”
³

Sarah had a spiritual paradigm shift: I
can see it now. All the possessions I collect here, they’ll all be left here. But God’s Kingdom—it lasts forever
. Tears welled in her eyes as she repented.
Jesus, please forgive me. I’ve spent my life so foolishly, worrying about things that will all end up in some garage sale when I die. I’ve worried about my bank balance and my house, clothes, furniture, how I look, and what people thought of me. I’ve wasted my life working for the wrong kingdom. Help me to value things that are lasting, the things that You say are valuable. Help me to live wholeheartedly for Your eternal Kingdom with the time I’ve got left. I know it’s not much, but I want to give it all to You
.

Joel turned to Malta and smiled. “Father never lets a prayer like that go unanswered. We’ll be very busy with Sarah.”