The Day I Encountered Yahweh
The day I personally encountered Yahweh, my Lord, my Savior, and my Creator, is a day I will never forget, as it has forever been imprinted into my being.
At the age of thirty, Yahweh moved me and my husband to Atlanta, Georgia, in order to live next to a family who had a very strong faith. In addition, I started working with a woman who just oozed her faith in Jesus, to anyone who would listen. Through these daily interactions, I witnessed what a strong faith in Jesus Christ looked like.
Quickly I became jealous of their faith. I began to want more. I began to seek the truth. At this point in my life, I believed there was a God but that was about it. My husband and I attended church when we felt guilty for not going in a while, and I prayed occasionally. However, I did not have a personal relationship with Yahweh, nor did I even know that was possible.
Then, one night as I was driving home from the airport, I began praying to God that he would send me a sign that he existed, and not only that he existed, but also that he cared about the well-being of my family and me. I cried and prayed for the entire hour-ride home, pleading for God to answer me.
It was a prayer like I had never prayed before. It was a prayer that came directly from my heart. I needed to know with certainty that there was a God. I truly desired the faith that my neighbors and coworker exhibited, but I first needed to know that he existed. I didn’t want to limp along in life not really knowing the absolute truth. I needed a sign from Yahweh just for me.
Throughout my childhood I had heard of all the miraculous stories written in the Bible, but that was no longer enough for me. I needed proof of my own. Once and for all, I needed to resolve my question of God’s existence so that I, too, would know with certainty WHO I should worship.
That very next morning, my young son woke up early because he wasn’t feeling well. As I pulled him into bed with me, he proceeded to throw up on my pillow. So much for going to work that day! God obviously had different plans. I immediately got out of bed, gathered my pillow, my pillowcase, and other articles of clothing that needed to be washed, and threw everything into the washer. After the wash cycle was complete, I put everything into the dryer.
On this particular day, our builder was at our house because we were having our kitchen remodeled. Around lunchtime, I remember our builder finding me outside to tell me that something in the house just didn’t smell right. We pinpointed the problem to be coming from the laundry closet. I opened the bi-fold doors, and even though everything appeared to be normal with my washer and dryer, there was a definite smell. It wasn’t until I opened the dryer door that I discovered what had happened. It was obvious from what I saw that a raging fire had occurred in my dryer. Not only were all of the contents of the dryer in ashes, but also the interior walls of the dryer were solid black, and the metal was severely deformed. Everything inside the dryer had been consumed by fire.
When I opened the dryer door on that day and saw all of the destruction, Yahweh spoke to me very clearly. It was not an audible voice but an internal voice inside my spirit. And what he said is this: “Judy, this is life without me, perfectly white on the outside, black and charred ashes on the inside.” I knew exactly what God meant by his words. He wanted me to know that in order to have true joy and peace in my life, I needed to let him into my heart. For Yahweh wanted the condition of my heart to match what I was portraying to everyone around me. As it was, my outside persona portrayed a perfect life; however, my heart was anything but whole. It was broken into a million pieces and was full of ashes.
Immediately upon hearing Yahweh’s voice, I remembered that I had just asked him the night before to send me a sign: first that he existed and, secondly, that he was watching over my family and me. As soon as I opened the dryer door, and he spoke to me so clearly, I knew that God existed. I had never experienced anything like this before, and there was no doubt in my mind WHO spoke. Finally, for the first time in my life the question of God’s existence could no longer be denied.
Once I started thinking about the circumstances, I also knew that Yahweh cared deeply about my family and me. Not only was there no smoke in the house due to this fire, but also the fire did not burn down our house. At the time this event occurred, the dryer vent was located only three feet below our seventeen-year-old wooden deck. At some point, I imagine that there were flames licking the bottom of our deck, and yet it did not catch on fire. The only destruction was contained to our dryer. In addition, all of the contents of the dryer were mine. I had asked God to provide a sign, and that is exactly what he gave me. He knew that I would be able to see his truth and symbolism about him through a modern-day appliance.
Yahweh spoke to me through fire on that day, and for that I am forever grateful. Hearing his voice through the remnants of the fire is what started my personal walk with Yahweh, and my life has never been the same since. On that very day God said to me, “I see your heart and the ashes that fill it. Bring your heart to me, my child, and let me show you what I can do with it. If you put your trust in me, and let me be your God, I will take your heart, I will heal it, and I will make the ashes white as snow.”
Once Yahweh personally answered my question about his existence, all of a sudden, his words become truth. My belief in God from that day forward was no longer based on what I had been taught about him throughout my childhood; my belief in God was now based on Yahweh personally speaking to me through a “sacred fire.” In the matter of a day, Yahweh became real and his words as written in the Bible became absolute truth, because I personally heard his voice for the very first time.
What amazes me is how fast Yahweh spoke truth into my life. From the time of my prayer spoken the previous night, God revealed himself to me in less than twelve hours. Like I often say, when we ask to know the truth about him, he communicates very quickly. The key is in the asking. In order to hear Yahweh’s voice, we have to be pursuing him with all that we have.
Yahweh spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. Yahweh spoke to me out of a burning dryer. Both Moses and I encountered the Great I AM! For Yahweh knew that if I heard his majestic voice for myself that it would catapult me into a personal relationship with HIM. And for that I am forever grateful.
I desire every believer in Jesus Christ to experience our Heavenly Father Yahweh in a personal and intimate way. Because I know that when you hear Yahweh’s majestic voice regularly, your mind becomes transformed, your heart becomes whole, and your live becomes abundant!
May Yahweh bless you and keep you,