Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Often God chooses to help me through other people. God could give the help directly to me but often another person will be used to give me the word I need in the situation.
Recently my former bridge partner, Johnnie, who is 92 fell. I called her and talked with her about her situation. I asked her if she can walk. She said she can walk but her son brought her his cane which is too tall for her and she can't use it and it is not adjustable. She has a walker that belonged to her husband and it is too tall. It could be adjusted but a week had passed and no one had adjusted it for her. I told her I would get her a cane. Johnnie replied that was OK. Her son-in-law would go get one for her. But I knew this was not going to happen for a week had passed since the accident and no one had gotten her a cane and she was still talking about her son's cane being too tall for her and unusable.
As soon as I got off the phone, I dressed and went to get her a cane. I took it to her house. No one answered the door bell. I rang twice. Still no answer but I was sure someone was home. I knocked on door. I could hear movement inside house. The door began to open and I was shocked. It was Johnnie opening the door. I knew her daughter and son-in-law were staying with her but there was no sign of either of them. I gave Johnnie the cane and we sat down and talked. In about 10 minutes her daughter came into room. It was about noon by that time. The three of us talked and when I got up to leave, Johnnie rose from the chair and started toward the door and began falling. I was horrified. I thought the daughter had caught her but Johnnie went down to the floor, knocking a table over as she fell.
The daughter was frantic, crying and trying to get Johnnie up. Johnnie told her to let her get her by herself and the daughter backed up. Amazingly, Johnnie did get up from the floor by herself. I was trying to get a glass which had fallen on the floor and the daughter stopped me and said to me, "Just go." So I left. I felt so terrible, as if I had somehow caused this accident. The only thing that consoled me is that Johnnie got up off the floor by her own effort. I felt that showed she wasn't too injured by the fall.
I called out to God for help for me. I was so troubled and felt that if I hadn't gone to her house she might not have fallen. I felt very guilty although there was no real evidence of guilt.
The next day, I told a member of our church group what had happened and she had the following scripture called to her mind:
James 1:27 ... Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
I felt God was showing me that I did not do evil but good in HIS sight by helping Johnnie with her need.
God could have given this scripture directly to me but God chose to give this to someone else to give to me.
We in the body of Christ are knit together by God as HE wills. Paul explained that we cannot say I have no need of you. It would be like the head saying it had no need of the foot or the eye saying it had no need of the hand. If we didn't need each other we would be our own god.
Paul explains:
I Cor. 12 ... Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he (God) will.
12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14For the body is not one member, but many. 15If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 25That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
God often brings me HIS truth through other members of the body of Christ. Four years ago, when I fell over a box and broke hip and was at rehab hospital and was helpless, the therapist told me that I would improve and would be able to walk again. I didn't think I would be able to walk again. Joseph Meriweather, a member of our little church group, had a dream about me and he shared that dream with me at the time. In the dream, I was walking. I didn't have to use a cane nor a walker. When Joseph shared this dream, I knew God was saying I would walk again. And that is what happened, I can walk now.
God doesn't always reveal the situation directly to me. I don't care who gets the information. I just want to hear the information from God.
As Paul said: We need each other in the body of Christ.