Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Years ago I was an assistant pastor and was going through an exceedingly difficult and painful situation with some members of the high school youth group and their families.  In addition, there was also an amazing mini-revival going on with other high school students at the same time and I was in the middle of it all.

I was loved by some and hated by others.  I had never experienced anything like it in my few years of ministry.  The pain and stress of the situation was compounded by the fact that I just didn’t understand why such negative things were happening – and they were happening!  Fortunately, the senior pastor was very supportive of me.

This situation went on for months with no end in sight.  Early one morning I was walking around the sanctuary, carrying the names of all the young people, and crying out to God for help.  I finally knelt down, weeping as I cried to the Lord, because I just didn’t understand what was going on.  At that time, the Lord spoke to me – not audibly – but unquestionably!  He simply spoke the name of a book and the chapter number in the Bible, one I hadn’t read yet.

I immediately opened to the chapter and read it.  I was stunned – it explained everything! – specifically!! – down to the details of painful things that had been done to me!!!  It gave me understanding of what was going on and the ‘why’!  It explained why He had brought us there and what we were to accomplish.  Importantly, it also expressed His expectations of me to respond to it all in a godly manner.

It was not information and understanding that I could use against anyone.  It was meant to help me.  We still had to walk through the painful circumstances, but the Lord had given us understanding and encouragement.  It was like the Lord put outriggers on BOTH sides of our canoe as we were going through turbulent white water to keep us upright and stable through the worst of it.

The fact that He had intervened and answered my cry was and is beyond priceless.  An incredible peace settled within Donna and me because we now understood what was going on, but more importantly, God had spoken to us.  This was a supernatural intervention of God into my life that would be part of the bedrock of my faith for the rest of my life!

We were at that church for another 15 months before leaving for grad school.  Before we left and in the months following, every one of those ‘problem’ high school students apologized to me for what they had done and the pain they had caused us.  To this day my Bible has a highlighted copy of that Bible chapter that the Lord spoke to me taped inside the back page.  It’s like in the Old Testament when the Lord told Israel to erect a memorial to remind them of the wonder God had performed.  It is an ever present reminder that God always hears our cries and is our source for wisdom, knowledge and understanding.