Hi, I am Penny Lyon, singer, and songwriter with the Christian band Out Of The Ashes. Welcome to God Today. Today I want to talk to you about the Holy Spirit. I have mentioned before that I have a boy who is now 17 years old. But when he was born he was very ill.
We all have that picture, don’t we, of the kind of parents we want to be? I think my images came off of healthy food, supplement advertisements. I was wanting to be the kind of mother that would sing songs to my child and would be able to make up stories on the spur of the moment. Could peel an apple in one long, continuous piece of rind. But the fact of the matter was I was exhausted because James was ill.
We were getting, for about the first 6 years of his life, about two hours of sleep per night. Initially, because of eczema. And subsequently because of asthma. Those first few years when he had eczema, he was covered from head to foot. Every inch of his body was an open, weeping sore. And then, of course, when it turned into asthma it was just frightening.
But I remember one particular night, after many of only getting two hours of sleep a night, trying to get this little chap off to sleep and to be able to stay asleep, I remember being there by his bed. It was about 3:00 am. I just wanted to get back to my bed myself. And frankly, I had nothing to give.
I sat there, with my hand on his tummy. I prayed. I said, “Lord, you only cattle on 1,000 hills. You can do anything. I have seen the healings that you can produce. And yet, here is this little chap. You can heal him now. Please heal him now.
I remember, at the time, it felt as though God wasn’t there. I found a bit of comfort, but I didn’t see any amazing change in James. Nothing seemed to happen. It was only some years later, when James was just about to start school, that we suddenly realized that, yes, we had asthma and it was nasty. But eczema had completely gone. Not a trace on his body.
The asthma thing carried on for some years. But the thing about it was when I got to, probably James was about 10. I realized that James had changed in his health, so much. To be beyond recognition. His asthma had become mild asthma. His eczema has completely gone. God had surrounded us with people that loved us, supported us, that encouraged us. That prayed for us.
And I realized that God might not have given me what I asked for that night, my instant healing. But He gave me what I needed. He gave me those people around me. He gave me time. He gave me a job that meant I didn’t have to be up at 8 o’clock in the morning to get up to work. He gave me everything I actually needed.
There is a Bible reading from John. This is the Gospel of John chapter 3. “You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born-again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” So it is with the Holy Spirit. You don’t know where it is going, but you know that it is right there.
I’d like to close in prayer. Father God, we thank you for your Holy Spirit. We thank you for the way you long to encourage us. To embrace us. To hold us in your hands. We thank you, Father, for your gift of the Holy Spirit. We ask you to pour it out on each one of us now. That we may know your will, know your heart, and be compelled to act as your servants. Thank you, Lord. Amen.