11 Jan Rophe on A Green Bus
As we kick off 21 days of Prayer and Reading, I want to share a quick story about something that happened to me (Pastor Micky) as a child. We started off the year talking about the names of God and what those mean to each of us as believers. We, of course, believe in His names and trust in Him, but it becomes much easier to understand how awesome He really is when we see Him in action.
When I was six years old, my mom and I were picked up by the church van to go to a Sunday night church service. This was a normal Sunday for us as we rode that same vehicle to church every week. This week was a bit different for me. I had woke up that morning with an ear ache that had progressively got worse throughout the day. By mid-day my ear was throbbing with pain and I remember feeling absolutely terrible. Not really sure why we went to church that night, but needless to say we did. During the service, I remember laying under the pew for what seemed an eternity.
Nothing extra-ordinary happened in the service. After church was over, we boarded the van again and waited for a few others to arrive so we could head home. It was a cold day in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. I remember being able to see my breath inside that van as we waited for it to warm-up. At this point, three were three people on the bus. My mom, myself, and a little lady in her late 70’s named Ollie. When Ollie saw I was in pain/not feeling well, she asked my mom if she could pray for me. My mom of course obliged and made mention that she was thinking about taking me to the emergency room once we were home.
Ollie reached her hand across the bench seat of that van and placed it on my forehead and asked the Lord to, “Touch this dear child.” Mind you it was still cold outside, the church van was not fully heated, but when she laid her hand on me, my whole body was flushed with warmth. Instantly I sat up from the leather bench seat I had been laying on and starting asking for something to eat. By the time we got home, I was in the back of the bus playing and laughing with a couple of the neighborhood kids.
That was a day I will not soon forget, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was healed. Jehovah Rophe, the Lord who heals, showed up for a young child on a bus, in a small town, to let me know that he loved me. I know Jehohah Rophe is real….because I saw Him in action, I experienced His touch first-hand.
I want to end this devotion with one quick thought. If you know someone who is sick or having an issue in their body, will you stop and pray for them right now? I would have ended up in the Emergency Room that night had Ollie not asked to pray for me. Take it a step further, give someone a call and pray in real time for them. Ask Jehovah Rophe (Exodus 15:26), the Lord who heals, the Lord my Physician, to touch their body. If he can do it on a church van, I believe he can do it over the phone for your friend or family member, wherever they may be. Let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone today.