A Witness…God caring for his church
So often my work is done quietly, behind the scenes, and that’s where I’ve found to have the best view, a front row seat, to watching the Lord at work. I’d like to brag on the Lord a little bit this morning, and share with you how I saw him caring for his church yesterday. I know many pastors, writers, artists, and speakers have been riding the waves of discouragement and adjustments this past year. Let this bring you hope and encourage you to hang in there. In spite of all of the turmoil of this season, God is still busy in our midst. This was refreshing to see…
I was talking on the phone with a pastor in Indiana, helping to plan an event with Singer/Songwriter Jason Gray, a concert originally meant to be a reunion for his church family as they “reopened” following the pandemic. Since it’s a bit too early with that, we were re-aligning the purpose of his hosting concert to meet the needs of his church right now, with so many struggling with depression, anxiety, and loss. We talked about his sermon, and how he wanted to communicate that God’s love “has them”, that they aren’t losing it in the midst of their hardships this season, in spite of the ways they might fall short in fighting to make it through. We were able to work a live performance of the song “Tethered“, and a bit of dialogue around it, into his service plan for the morning as a segue into his sermon and the evening concert. We chose to follow it with the song “Sparrows” as a reminder of God’s individual love and care for each them. I couldn’t have planned a better fit for his people, and was in awe of how the Lord brought that together.
As we planned the evening concert, and revised the focus for it, he said, “I just want them to know the Lord will see them through”. I almost laughed at how easily we were able to highlight the song “Through” and work it into the evening. I shared the YouVersion Devotionals with him, and agreed, that’s the song for them. Jason will share stories and songs about spiritual Transformation during his concert, of how the Lord does just that, through the seasons of order, disorder, and reorder in our lives. So, within a short conversation, I was able to watch the Lord encourage this Shepherd, and equip him with just what he needed to feed his flock. That’s a beautiful thing to see. Hope you’re somewhere near Indianapolis on Sunday, and can make it to this show. You will most certainly be encouraged.
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You are not alone. Others have made it through hard times, and so will you. If you’ve found a way to accept and even enjoy yourself, will you tell us about it? It’s in our struggles that we really come to know God and know ourselves.
Your story can bring hope to someone today.
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