01/12/2010
Our Sunday's sermon was incredible! My family has been out-of-town and I had forgotten that we had just begun a new series on Destinations. By my last week's blogging though, it's obvious that my conscience had remembered. For three of last week's posts were about our trips in life, our traveling.
The sermon had been about where we are going, about our considering the journey that we are traveling, about the road signs along our way, and about our heeding to the warnings. At the end of the sermon a man got up to pray for the Lord's Supper. In his telling of what our Savior has done he told a little about his future journey. He and his wife are moving to Africa this week to serve as a missionary doctor especially targetted to helping those with Aids. As he told his story I ached with jealousy. In my mind, not out loud, I kept saying to Jesus how much I wanted to go! I've been to where this man and his wife are going and my heart longs to go back there.
After the supper was finished (and because of the lesson we'd just heard) one of our youth ministers told us that he wanted to advocate for all of us in prayer. He asked us to bow our heads and close our eyes and hold our hands out in a poster of receiving. He said that he was going to say three words, pausing between each, and he wanted us to listen to God about what He wanted us to tell us.
His first word was "Danger"...... What did God want to warn you of?
Immediately and without warning a red light instantly went off in my head! Not really knowing if I'd have an answer or not, before I had time to even consider, I knew immediately what God wanted to warn me of! I will admit it, it disappointed me. I didn't like the warning. I didn't want what He'd warn me of to be something that I should be cautious of.
And then, before I had much time to ponder upon it, his second word was memtioned. "Discernment"...... What was God telling you to do about it?
"Tiptoe," was the answered that slammed me. Well, it wasn't run, I thought! It wasn't "flee" as Joseph had done. After the warning of danger it wasn't the answered I thought I'd get. I must admit I was a bit relieved.
And last, but not least, his third word was this one: "Direction"..... Where was God telling you to go?
With the hearing of the word ("direction") I started praying. Not aloud, mind you, but in my mind. I started talking about Africa and how I'd missed those children there. I was silently talking 90-to-nothing...... when I remembered! I wasn't supposed to be talking, I was supposed to be listening to Him! I apologized for my bombardment and asked God what He wanted to say? His answer surprised me! He showed me in pictures. He gave me a visual. Though the roads were different, here's what I saw:
A picture of a Garmin flashed before my eyes. With a ton of streets upon it. Sreets going everywhere! But... in place of the one arrow pointing down the street where I was to go, there were arrows going down every single street and road! I said to God in my silence, "Lord, I can't go down all those roads." And His answer was instant! He flashed those in the prisons of where I've been visiting before my eyes and He said, "No. You can't. But they can!"
And I knew!
Wow! In a split second my mind was turned from those in Africa to where I wanted to go and focused to the prisoners of where He's placed me now in my season's now moment. Wow! How very much I love them! And wow! How very much more that He does!.. more than I ever could!
Wow! I saw His purpose! I saw His reason! I saw their future! I saw them going before Him! I saw them working for Him! I saw their skins being skins of Jesus! And I am blown away by what He showed me!
Oh Lord, in my awe, thank You for the work that You do! Thank you for using the most unlikely and broken vessels for your vehicles to ride in! Thank You for letting me be a part! How can I tell them? Or..... maybe.... perhaps You will show them a glimpse of what You showed me? :)
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