As a believer, I have never raised a dead person, but as
a reporter, I have interviewed people who have. As believer, I have never
glimpsed heaven, but I've interviewed two people who have been there in the spirit. I have interviewed and documented (where possible) thirty-eight believers from around the world—evangelists,
missionaries, doctors, award-winning authors, and "ordinary" believers. I have collected their stories of God's life-changing supervention in their lives.
As I pondered the many titles on Amazon which repeat the
words miracle or God encounters, I asked the Lord for a different
word that would describe their experiences. He dropped supervention
into my head. Was that even in the dictionary? It is not in Webster's
or a few others on my desk. However, I found it in the Oxford
American Dictionary. “Supervention” is defined as an interruption
or change from some condition or process—the perfect word for what
God is doing in the lives of His people. Interrupting and redirecting
their paths. Healing a condition. Changing the process.
You are about to read stories from people who have
experienced a divine interruption in the direction of their lives. A
supervention. Not every story has the hoped-for miraculous outcome.
Some describe unexpected guidance, impossible peace in the midst of
tragedy, or receiving Christ's empowerment to do something
impossible.
Some readers will find their theology challenged. Most
people base their belief on what they have experienced (or not
experienced) throughout the years of their lives. Everyone can point
to times when prayers went unanswered for healing or for other
intervention. However, that should not cast doubt on the times when
God does supervene to heal, to speak, or to rescue.
Some will shake their heads in outright skepticism. We
ask the readers to base their faith, not in other people's
experiences, but solely in the Word of God and to remember that He
says all things are possible to them that believe.
It is our hope that each story is examined in the light
of scripture. Is there biblical precedent? Does this glorify the Lord
Jesus? Those are the questions I asked before including each of the
following testimonies.
Readers, enjoy. Skeptics and doubters, open your minds.
Believers, praise God.
I am including one delightful story from the book on this Blog today. It is truly a faith-builder.
Are Marriages Made in Heaven?
By Kevin Knight as told to H. L. Ford
Be ye not unequally yoked (2
Corinthians 6:14 KJV).
Are marriages really made in heaven?
Some people say they had a matchmaker from the opposite
place. With one of every two marriages ending in divorce these days,
it could be that many couples do have
the wrong matchmaker.
A young man and woman who met in Canada have a rather
amazing story to tell about their own Matchmaker. It's a story that
every Cinderella and knight in shining armor dreams of when seeking a
future husband or wife. Only there is no fairy godmother in this love
story.
Speaking of knights, the young man whose last name is
Knight (coincidentally), grew up in New Brunswick, Canada in a home
that he describes as “not exactly Christian.”
At the age of fifteen, Kevin Knight attended an
evangelistic crusade that changed his life. The message by John
Wesley White drew him to the cross. On September 15, 1977, he gave
his heart to Jesus. That date was to become quite significant in his
life in more ways than one.
After graduation from high school, Kevin enrolled as a
student at Bethany Bible College. During his second year, an
attractive young woman arrived on campus. She immediately caught his
eye.
From Corning, New York, Rhoda Whitaker had grown up in a
godly home. Her mother was a woman of deep faith.
Both Kevin and Rhoda had been praying separately for the
Lord to bring the “right person” into their lives. Kevin
especially wanted confirmation, because of some family issues and
insecurity he had experienced during his growing-up years.
The pair began spending time together. Soon Kevin
realized he was falling in love. He was pleased when Rhoda's parents
invited him to their New York State home for a visit during Christmas
break. In January of 1984, Kevin and Rhoda drove to Corning together.
On the way, Rhoda said something which Kevin will never forget. “My
mother is very prophetic and she will know when she meets you if you
are the one for me.”
Kevin later recalls, “I didn't know what 'prophetic'
meant, and I didn't put much stock in those words at the time.”
Still, the idea made him a little nervous, especially when Rhoda
mentioned that every previous young man she had introduced to her
mother received only a cordial comment, “Yes, he's a nice enough
friend.”
Kevin was hoping for more than friendship with his
lovely companion. They arrived and were greeted by Rhoda's father,
Nathan, who welcomed Kevin warmly. Jane, her mother, sat quietly and
just observed. As the evening progressed, Kevin and Rhoda's parents
spent a couple of hours getting to know each other. He thought things
went very well.
That night, he doesn't recall dreaming of wedding bells;
however, the next morning as he walked into the room where Rhoda and
her mother were sitting, he saw that they were looking through bridal
books.
Now that might surprise any young man, especially if he
had not yet even popped the all-important question.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on here?” he
exclaimed.
Jane rose and said, “Wait right here, Kevin. I want to
show you something.” She left the room and returned carrying a very
worn, black Bible.
“This has been misplaced a long time. I just recently
found it,” Jane said with a twinkle in her eye. She opened it and
removed a piece of paper.
Then she told Kevin the following story: “In 1977 I
had surgery, and while I was regaining my strength, I rested on the
couch and prayed. I asked the Lord for a godly young man to be my
daughter's future husband. The Lord answered me with very specific
directions. He said I should cut a piece of paper into the shape of a
large egg. I wrote down the words He gave to me at that time. Then I
placed it in my Bible. This egg-shaped paper is a symbol of God's
promise to me that something has been waiting to hatch.”
Jane handed the paper to Kevin. On it, he read a
description of certain character traits—personal qualities that
described him perfectly. He was astonished at how specific the words
captured his very essence.
“I knew when I read them that I was the one the Lord
had chosen for Rhoda,” Kevin smiles.
Rhoda also knew that Kevin was her “knight,” with or
without shining armor.
The pair enjoyed a few days visiting with Rhoda's family
before they returned to Canada. Then Kevin decided to visit Moncton
Wesleyan Church in New Brunswick, the church where he had given his
heart to the Lord. He found Forest McArthur, a lay person at the
church, and asked out of curiosity, “Do you happen to have any idea
of the date when I got saved?”
Mr. McArthur nodded, led him upstairs to a file cabinet,
looked through some papers and pulled out a card. “Here you are.
You were saved on September 15, 1977.”
Kevin stood there staring. It was a moment of undeniable
confirmation. He had surrendered his heart to Jesus on the same day
Jane's mother had been praying—the very date on which the Lord had
instructed her to write on an egg-shaped piece of paper.
If Kevin had any shadow of doubt, it was erased at that
moment.
The couple married and eventually settled near Branson,
Missouri. They have three beautiful daughters and the Lord has
brought a godly young man into each of their lives. “We always told
them to make sure they marry God's best,” says Kevin. “Our own
marriage has been great, and Rhoda and I love serving the Lord
together. We want that same blessing for our daughters.”
I suspect that readers of this story may be asking for
Jane Whitaker's phone number in order to call in a prayer request for
a match made in heaven.
The actual number everyone needs, not only for a godly
spouse, but for every matter of life, is found in Jeremiah 33:3.
Paraphrased it says, Call unto me, and I will
answer you and show you great things which you do not know.
That covers everything, including revealing the
characteristics of a future godly mate.
About Kevin Knight: Kevin
pastors Homestead Worship Center, 5200 State Highway J in Kirbyville,
Missouri. He also is a sales representative for Branson Tri-Lakes
News. Rhoda is a nurse assistant at Cox Hospital in Branson.
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