Every time that I come upon John 4:52, I am reminded of a moment in my life when I was most severely broken, though hopeful given an earlier epiphany moment in Dad's living room.
I bet I have shared this with a thousand or more people! However, if you are a new reader, you might want to scroll back a few posts!
I was quite early into an introduction to a scripture led life, unlike my other family members. At age 25, this prodigal had just returned home and was sharing space upstairs with two younger brothers.
Yes, there were boomerang kids that far back in time!!
My brothers, just before turning in one night, had offered to pray with me, after they had shared a Bible verse, Matthew 18:19. Trust me, it was weird at my age and given the last few years of my life!
You know the verse, the three of us then held hands and "agreed in prayer." Trust me it was a first!
Their prayer was that God would provide Christian companions for this former maverick. To my knowledge, at that time, none in my circle were of that lot.
It had been about three years since my unexpected divorce and I was more inclined to a life similar to the woman at the well, if you catch my drift.
After we had prayed, I went back to my room, my sister's old bedroom across the hall.
Contemplating the strange act I had just experienced, holding hands in a circle and agreeing in prayer, I picked up a small, red Gideon Testament which one of my students had provided.
Somehow, a ninth grade student had sensed a life change in her teacher, and dared place the testament on my desk. Mitzi Foster was her name, and I'll never forget her!
That night, I assumed there must have been other verses in the book similar to the Matthew remedy just shared. I was desperate.
I opened the small book that had caught my eye as I reentered the bedroom. It had been resting, untouched on the dresser beside my bed. I had almost discarded it!
As I randomly cracked open the small Testament, my eyes fell immediately upon the story of the nobleman who had heard of Jesus's healing and had sought him out on behalf of his son who was quite ill.
As I read the story, my heart still desperate for companionship, I heard the Lord say, "if you'll trust me I'll heal your love life!" Yes, those very words were used that night at about 11:30.
I'm serious as a heart attack! You can't make this stuff up!
I reference the story in John 4 because, when the nobleman returned home, as instructed by Jesus, his servant came rushing out to tell him that the son had been healed.
The nobleman then ask when, and found it was at the "same hour" as he turned toward home, trusting what he had been told.
Why are the words "same hour" important to my story? I was very literal in my early days, call it immaturity, but those days were precious and intimate. Intimacy was what I needed. God always meets you where you are!
The next morning I called the young girl with whom I had lived for two years before moving back to Dad's. I recall asking her specifically what she was doing at about 11:30 the night before. Keeping late hours were normal for both of us back then.
Her exact words, "Watching Johnny Carson, why?"
I knew that I was supposed to move on.
If you know my story, within weeks another miraculous moment occured in the life of the teacher across the hall with whom I had become fast friends. Because of our relationship and a misunderstanding on the part of her fiancee, he had become infuriated one Sunday evening and had broken off her engagement.
You see, I had finally agreed to attend church with her, and I insisted that we go out to lunch afterwards so I could share my recent experience in Christ.
Later that night, broken and tearful, she showed up at Dad's front door. She rang the doorbell and Dad called up to his boomerang elder son!
I then walked her back up to my room to hear her out. Suddenly as she shared, I realized what might be happening. I courageously asked if we too might hold hands and pray together. My prayer, that we might begin to date, afterwards more candidly sharing this story, along with the words, "If it works, I think I am going to marry you!"
By the time our prayer had ended, it was about the "same hour" as when I had heard the words spoken weeks earlier, "If you'll trust me, I'll heal your love life!"
We just completed 50 years of marriage as of December 2023!