It felt like a crisis. It wasn't really a crisis at all, when I later put it into its proper perspective. But trust me, earlier today, it felt like a crisis.
I work one or two days a week in a chiropractor's office to help pay my bills. The chiropractors are two young women in their twenties, and it is their first year in practice. I just go in to keep up on all the insurance claim filing.
Today, I accidentally deleted a year's worth of claims files. One wrong click, and poof! They vanished into thin air. (What is "thin air" I sometimes wonder?) I spent the rest of the day and into the evening tonight trying to restore those files, but to no avail. And I spent a lot of time fretting about the many, many hours I would be spending in the near future to try to restore all that data by typing in all those claims again. You know the kind of day I had. You have them too. Computers are often our friends, but sometimes become the bane of our existence! And instead of helping my precious bosses today, I set them back.
By 7:00 pm, when I realized I had lost the battle to restore the files, I came home. "It is the Shabbat," I told myself, "no more work! No more worry! No more fretting!" And so I gave it over to Abba. In the light of the two Shabbat candles, I gave Him those lost files - and all of my frustration. In my e-mail was the news that a Denver radio station has begun broadcasting my Bible teachings. And then there was a story from Channel 7 News in Florida about a man that was "raised from the dead" - returning to life after being dead over one hour of a massive heart attack - because his doctor felt led to return to his dead body and pray! And then there was news from the 2 families in Maui where I ministered last fall. They are getting ready to go into a recording studio to record the Messianic songs the Lord has given to them, and they learned that the producer who will be helping them with their music is Jewish - and seemed greatly blessed and interested to know about what they believe!
I guess losing the files wasn't such a crisis. I guess I don't need to feel so ashamed of my mistake. What was lost will either be restored, or the Lord will give me the memory and stamina to re-create it. And just as I shared with the women in Kansas last weekend, God spoke through His prophet Joel and made us a promise about these days:
"And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great army which I sent among you. and you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Yahweh, your Elohim, that has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed."
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