The Gale

It was May 7, 2013.  I woke early, plagued by internal trembling.  Four days earlier the investors had made a unanimous decision to sell Sunrise, which I knew spelled the end ofthe Oasis as well.  I prayed that God would help me rest in His peace, and wrote:

"I need a fresh revelation of Your grandeur to help me find my place in Your plan."

On the morning of Saturday, May 11,  a passage from Streams in the Desert brought comfort and reassurance:

"Oh how everything gives way when affliction first comes upon us!  The clinging stems of our hopes are quickly snapped, and our heart lies overwhelmed and prostrate, like a vine the windstorm has torn from its trellis.  But once the initial shock is over we are able to look up and say, 'It is the Lord.'  Faith begins to lift our shattered hopes and binds them to the feet of God, resulting in confidence, safety and peace."

Later that evening the storm intensified.  Henry began to share with me what the Lord had been laying on his heart.  He was impressed to re-read the book of Revelation, straight through, from beginning to end.  When he reached Chapters 17 and 18 he paused...
     "Honey, there is a verse that WILL NOT LEAVE ME ALONE!"  he called to the kitchen, where I was making dinner.  I walked around the corner into the family room. He continued:  "It's Revelation 18:4..."

"Then I heard another voice from heaven say:  'Come out of her my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues."

"I am more and more convinced that the U.S. is very likely the 'Mystic Babylon' described in Revelation."  he said.  "I believe God may be calling us to leave."

I am ashamed to admit that I began to wonder if my husband had gone off the deep end. 

I began to cry out to God for wisdom and protection.  I knew Henry was a godly man, seeking the Lord with his whole heart.  I wanted to believe I could trust God to speak through my husband...but this was A BIT TOO MUCH!  The dialogue continued through the weekend, well into Sunday evening.  Sleep did not come easily.

I was still at home mid-morning on Monday, when Henry telephoned.  His voice was edgy.
"You will NEVER believe what just happened!  I needed to check the bank balance for the Oasis account, and when I logged in, the validation code (which is usually just squiggly nonsense) actually spelled a word!!!  It spelled 'EXPAT'!  At first I thought it was a coincidence, but I decided to figure the odds...Anne, the odds of THAT word appearing are ONE in sixty-seven-million!"

After this, there was no way I could simply dismiss what Henry thought he was sensing from the Lord.  I knew I would have to dig into the Word...desperate to hear for myself.  After all, as a married couple I didn't think it like God to say something so profoundly earth shattering to Henry...and keep silence with me...it didn't make sense!