The Brooding Spirit

The Spirit broods over us even before we are saved. He works to separate us from the world and make us ready to receive God as life. This was my experience. I was in grade 5. The Spirit had been working to cause me to think that I needed the Lord. Then one day I heard the gospel in a children's meeting. I wanted to respond but I had a problem. I had lied and told people that I was already saved. If I responded to the invitation of the preacher then people would know that I had been lying. That was an evil trap of the devil. Now that I really wanted to receive the Lord I was afraid of what people would think.

The Lord gave me another chance. The next day the Gideon's came to my class at school and gave each of us a Bible. On the last page it asked if you wanted to receive Jesus and be saved. I wanted to. Ok, read Romans 10:9. Right there in class I read the verse, prayed the prayer in the back of the Bible, and signed my name. I received Jesus! Why? Because the Spirit had been working to send the Gideon's to my class right at the time I was open. I don't know if anyone else in that class received the Lord but I did. The Father had selected me and the Spirit was brooding over me.

I took the Bible home and showed my mother. I was happy but at the same time a little embarrassed. I said, "I got a new Bible today." "Oh really?" she said, "Show me." When I showed her my mother opened the last page and asked me what that meant. I told her that I prayed and received the Lord. She asked me to pray again with her. Then I was fully positive that I was saved.

The next day on the way to school I told my friend that he needed to believe in Jesus. I told him that I used to not want to believe because I thought it would make me sad. Instead it made me very happy. I was so exited I wanted him to believe right away. I felt white as snow, absolutely spotless. In eternity past the Father had chosen me. 2,000 years ago the Son paid the price for my sins. Right there in grade 5 the Spirit applied God's salvation to me. Praise Him.

Norman