Traveling with Kay

It was really neat to spend some time with Kay Arthur during our trip. Several years ago I would have idolized her or placed her on a pedestal, but thankfully I now realize that she is just an ordinary person being used by God as she is obedient to Him. Due to the overwhelming amount of studying of the Bible that she has done I have a lot of respect for her insights and understanding.

One day in Jerusalem I was with my group at what seemed like the 100th excavation site that we visited. It wasn't really that bad, but our tour guide was a walking encyclopedia and I am just not that interested in old rocks. He kept using the "E" word- excavation. I had a sudden urge to just leave. I can't explain it, I just felt the need to get away. So I decided to just leave the group and take a break by myself. As I left the area feeling like a total slacker it so happened that I left the site just as Kay Arthur was there and needing someone to walk with her and carry her Bible to the next teaching site. So as everyone else was enduring a long discussion on the significance of a pile of stones I was escorting Kay around Jerusalem and talking with her about God and medicine and miracles. She was a nurse as a young woman, so she had a great perspective on medicine.

We talked about the power of prayer, and if it really matters to pray for someone to be healed. The basic premise of what she shared with me is that of course prayer matters and God does perform miracles sometimes. It is also possible to think we know what God wants to do and be completely wrong. She told me that she felt the need to pray for her dad to be healed and so she did and then her dad died. She said she obviously misunderstood God on that one. I really appreciated her honesty! We talked about the "name it and claim it" theology, which her and I both believe is not Biblical. God isn't a vending machine and He certainly isn't going to be strong-armed by us. I personally would rather have God's will than mine for my life. God knows far better what I truly need and what is best for me! We discussed the often used passage, "by His stripes we are healed" and how people often use this to think we should be physically healed when that passage and the context make it clear that it is about God healing us spiritually from our sins through His death.

All in all, it was a really neat conversation as we walked around Jerusalem. Her Bible was heavy and full of markings! I am so thankful for her obedience to God. Watching and interacting with her makes me want to dive into the Bible at a much greater depth to truly get to know God better, not just have an emotional response to what I read.