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I renamed this episode – Jonah and other runaways – Sarah Jakes. Maybe I’m enjoying this day with Sarah because I’ve been there, done that. No, I’ve never been a stripper. Nobody would want to see that!!! But I have lived on the backside of the desert in a place that was as bad and even worse than Sarah did.
I can’t say I was running away from God. But I can say that I was running away from life. I kept a relationship with Christ even while empty. But I knew I’d never be back in ministry because I had so seriously failed my Lord. At a time like that, in fact, I didn’t feel I could use the word “Lord” to describe Him. I did know He was my Savior all through those four and a half years – much longer than Sarah did her thing. And amazingly, though I absolutely can’t promise this to everyone who scurries away from God, I was met on the other end of those years by those who reached out to restore me – Georgia and Bill Johnson. How I thank God for them. Bethel church in Redding, California, was my place of restoration with Georgia by my side. She had nothing to do with the four and a half years, but she’s been there for me ever since. And Bethel was the greatest place on Earth to be made whole again.
So this episode in the series on Sarah Jakes may shock you. “TD Jakes daughter was WHERE??!!!” And her description of how her parents handled her returning home shows me that she had Christian parents to the max. Where had Sarah been? As she says, “In the belly of a fish.” Here’s Sarah to explain…. –Ray
Jonah and other runaways – Sarah Jakes #5