I've just returned home from a trip to Colorado's western slope. I drove over in anticipation of the lunar eclipse - excited to view it with a "spiritual sister," so we could blow the shofar, recite some psalms together and pray over Jerusalem as the blood-red moon appeared in the sky. It never once occurred to me to check the weather for the evening of Feb. 20th before I drove over 300 miles to do this!
Because it was cloudy all day in Grand Junction, we checked the weather channel map to see WHERE we might drive for a clear view. The map showed a heavy cloud cover from California all the way across the nation to Nebraska! It was strange. There is never a cloud cover that far-reaching! But we were not deterred. We got our Bibles and her shofar, and we drove west toward Moab, Utah. My friend drove and I read the psalms. We said aloud to the Lord, "We believe we will see your sign in the sky, Father! We drive, expecting. We drive, believing. You parted the Red Sea for the Israelites! You can part the clouds with the touch of Your Right Hand!"
After driving about fifty miles, it was time for the moon to begin its eclipse. We found a high place off the interstate and parked the car. Like two teenagers at the drive-in movie, we sat in the front seat staring out the windshield, our eyes fixed on the eastern sky. I blew the shofar. We watched. I sang to Yahweh. We watched. The clouds never parted. We never saw a thing.
As we began the drive back home, I could have sworn I heard a chuckle in the Spirit. I imagined the Father saying, "Look at My two little handmaidens down there watching and waiting and believing in what they cannot see! It makes Me happy!"
Perhaps it was a faith test. We couldn't see it, but we knew it was there. We can't see the Lord either, but we know He is there. And for us, it was a peculiar act of faith and worship. We could have stayed home disappointed and turned on the TV. But we chose instead to go out, expecting! I believe that is what David meant when he said, "YET will I praise the Lord!"
Just because I could not see it did not mean it didn't happen. And as I expected, Abbas (of the P.A.) and Olmert (of Israel) WERE engaged in talks that day, specifically about the division of Jerusalem.
The photo above was taken in Jerusalem on Feb. 20. God did put His sign in the heavens, speaking to the children of Israel. And two of His small servants blew a shofar over Jerusalem from across the world, by faith, knowing that He is God and He will watch over His Word to accomplish it. If it WAS a faith test - I think we passed - even though we must have looked awfully silly on that remote hillside in Utah.
We didn't see that blood-red moon; YET will I praise the Lord!
Because it was cloudy all day in Grand Junction, we checked the weather channel map to see WHERE we might drive for a clear view. The map showed a heavy cloud cover from California all the way across the nation to Nebraska! It was strange. There is never a cloud cover that far-reaching! But we were not deterred. We got our Bibles and her shofar, and we drove west toward Moab, Utah. My friend drove and I read the psalms. We said aloud to the Lord, "We believe we will see your sign in the sky, Father! We drive, expecting. We drive, believing. You parted the Red Sea for the Israelites! You can part the clouds with the touch of Your Right Hand!"
After driving about fifty miles, it was time for the moon to begin its eclipse. We found a high place off the interstate and parked the car. Like two teenagers at the drive-in movie, we sat in the front seat staring out the windshield, our eyes fixed on the eastern sky. I blew the shofar. We watched. I sang to Yahweh. We watched. The clouds never parted. We never saw a thing.
As we began the drive back home, I could have sworn I heard a chuckle in the Spirit. I imagined the Father saying, "Look at My two little handmaidens down there watching and waiting and believing in what they cannot see! It makes Me happy!"
Perhaps it was a faith test. We couldn't see it, but we knew it was there. We can't see the Lord either, but we know He is there. And for us, it was a peculiar act of faith and worship. We could have stayed home disappointed and turned on the TV. But we chose instead to go out, expecting! I believe that is what David meant when he said, "YET will I praise the Lord!"
Just because I could not see it did not mean it didn't happen. And as I expected, Abbas (of the P.A.) and Olmert (of Israel) WERE engaged in talks that day, specifically about the division of Jerusalem.
The photo above was taken in Jerusalem on Feb. 20. God did put His sign in the heavens, speaking to the children of Israel. And two of His small servants blew a shofar over Jerusalem from across the world, by faith, knowing that He is God and He will watch over His Word to accomplish it. If it WAS a faith test - I think we passed - even though we must have looked awfully silly on that remote hillside in Utah.
We didn't see that blood-red moon; YET will I praise the Lord!
