Are You Ready for a Fresh Outpouring?

One day, Grandpa called my mother on the phone and invited her to meet him at the jewelry store in town. It was her thirteenth birthday. Grandpa told mom that she could choose any watch that she wanted as a birthday present from him. Mom said she remembered that Grandpa didn’t like waste or extravagance. He would scold the housekeeper if she were too extravagant with the meals. Remember Grandma Polly went home to be with the Lord when she was only 53 years old, so they had a housekeeper to help with the children. Mom walked around that jewelry store and she didn’t even look at the watches she was just looking at the price tags. She chose the cheapest watch in the store. Grandpa asked her if she was very sure that she had chosen the right watch. My mother replied that she was sure that she had found the watch that she wanted. When they got outside the store, Grandpa looked at my mother and said, “Alice I am very disappointed in you today.” Mom was surprised. “Why, Grandpa?” He replied, “When God offers you a gift, choose the best.” He went on to explain to her that God has many gifts for us and we must always choose the best. Mom lived by this principal all of her life. Always lifting her faith to choose the best. When she was preparing to go to the Congo, Smith Wigglesworth bought her a beautiful watch as a farewell gift. He also bought her a lovely Bible that she really treasured. In the front he wrote the following words:

Trusting that this book will be the choicest of all books.

Perhaps it would appear that Smith Wigglesworth’s life was a bed of roses. However, he did have his share of sorrow. Grandma Polly died at age 53. She always said, “One day, I will preach myself right through heaven’s door.” She did exactly that. Grandpa raised her from the dead but he had to release her when she said, “Smith, the Lord has need of me.” That was the biggest “Yes, Lord” that he ever had to say. It was not long after this that Grandpa’s youngest son died. He was in America at the time.

I love these words that he wrote:

Praise is God’s sunlight in the heart. It destroys sin germs. It ripens the fruits of the Spirit. It is the oil of gladness that lubricates life’s activities. There can be no holy life without it. It keeps the heart pure and the eye clear.

Praise is essential to the knowledge of God and His will. The strength of a life is the strength of its song. When the pressure is heavy that is the time to sing. Pressure is permitted to strengthen the attitude and spirit of praise. It takes a man to sing in the dark when the storm and battle are raging, and it is such singing that makes the man.

 

PneumaReview.com: What do you think Smith Wigglesworth will be most remembered for?

Lilian de Fin: Smith Wigglesworth is known as the Apostle of Faith. He will be remembered for the thousands of healings and miracles that were seen in his meetings. He will be remembered for the many people who were raised from the dead under his ministry. He will also be remembered for the bold way that he approached sickness. Often criticized for the rough manner in which he appeared to handle some diseases, Grandpa would simply say, “I know my business.” My dad explained to us that at times like that he was operating in the gift of discerning of spirits. He would see the demon causing the illness, and would command it to leave as he punched the stomach of the sick person. They were always healed. Sometimes he would see a pair of hands move in front of his as he laid hands on the sick. And he would see the face of Jesus appear, especially when death was in the room. He was often heard to say, “Oh, He is a lovely Jesus.”

Healing was the norm in my world. Where we lived in Congo, there were no doctors or hospitals. When we were sick my mom would call my dad and together they would pray for us. We would fall asleep and wake up well.

My dad was seriously ill with malaria many times and at one point he suffered from a complication of malaria called black water fever. He returned to England and went to see Grandpa. He explained to Grandpa that he was going for a medical examination and he needed a clean bill of health in order to be allowed back on the mission field. Grandpa took dad for a walk in the park. He took a bottle of anointing oil and began to anoint my dad with oil from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Dad said he felt so humbled as he stood in the park with this mighty man of God kneeling and praying over his feet. Of course, dad was completely healed and was allowed to return to Africa.

Tags: fresh, outpouring, ready

Category: Living the Faith, Winter 2018