Comin' Off the Mountain

We had a lovely couple of days at Gorham's Bluff...it was an amazing treat, in many ways.

But God surprised me in a way I didn't expect, just a bit, while we were there.

There are books all over the lodge...books in the living area, books in the rooms.... And I happened to find a battered copy of Corrie ten Boom's Tramp for the Lord on the bookshelf in our room.

I have The Hiding Place, and I've *heard* of Tramp for the Lord, but I'd never gotten a chance to sit down and read it.

It was a very quick read; somehow, I managed to get through the whole little book while I was there.

Now I'm gonna be looking for a copy of my very own (to mark up and underline, of course!)

Some things really impressed me about Corrie...and this is just what I remember from what I read; I don't have the book to go back and make sure I've got it right! She had an incredible story related in The Hiding Place, but the stories of her travels after the war really challenged me.

She lived a fairly normal, predictable life up until the Germans invaded Holland. At age 52 (that's just a year older than I am!) she was arrested and began her prison ordeal.

She learned to listen to God...really listen to Him. She would feel His direction to go to a certain country, purchase plane tickets and fly to that country without any assurance of where she would stay or what she would do there. Yet over and over again doors would open and ministry opportunities appeared.

She really didn't come into contact much with the Pentecostalism that spread out from the Azusa Street Revival, at least not soon, yet she had an experience that she considered to be her Baptism in the Holy Ghost early in her travels that seemed to parallel what many of the Pentecostal folks were experiencing.

She absolutely believed God would do what He said He would do, with no if's, and's or but's. She wasn't afraid to claim those things...and over and over again, she saw Him do them.

Her standard opening question when introduced to someone was, 'How long have you known the Lord?' Not 'Are you a Christian?' or 'If you died right now, would you go to Heaven?' but, 'How long have you known the Lord?' She asked that question of everyone. If the reply was a period of time, she rejoiced in having found a brother or sister in the Lord. If someone replied that they did not know Him, then she would begin to explain the Gospel to them. She was an Evangelist, in the purest terms.

I was challenged...and a little chagrined. It wasn't really easy to read of Corrie's dedication to serving God while I was being pampered and spoiled (and I *was* pampered and spoiled!)

I haven't completely processed everything that stirred in my spirit as I read that book, but I do know that I need to maintain the pursuit that was so easy on that mountain....