Where are you?

I am a philosopher, poet, theologian, and scientist. When it comes to my personal faith, I try to look at each tenet from all of the angles so that I might better understand the person of who my God is. I am as flawed as any man can be, and often wonder why God would even have offered his love to me, let alone die on a cross and rise again for my sins. The point I'm making, is that I often get so wrapped up in the natural course of my life that I forget to stop and keep regular tally of who I am in relationship to who He is.

I was a guest preacher for my father-in-law's church this morning, and I made several mistakes in the worship order and process. My message was meant to be an encouragement to the body for the building project that they have undertaken to improve their church. Normally, visitor's are limited to 1 or 2. Today, there were at least 11 young persons from a local camp sitting in on the sermon. My message was not deep or involved. I barely scratched the surface of the material. But what happened after the sermon was nothing short of a God moment.

Normally, when I finish a sermon, I head straight to the exit to shake hands and talk to people as I go. Today, I never made it to the back of the church. I was surrounded by the young visitors almost immediately as I stepped down from the pulpit. Some were discussing how they could relate to my message, others were mentioning how they enjoyed the sermon. One young man, however, touched me. He told me that he had not been attending church lately, but after listening to me, was considering going back.

I was floored! First of all, my message was not intended for this small group of kids. Second, I know that the Holy Spirit has awesome power because I did not speak a single word about challenging sin, getting your life in tune with God, or deepening your relationship with God through Jesus (themes which are usually present when I preach.) To say that I am humbled, would be an understatement. Let me put it to you this way: WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!

In Ephesians, we are told that God is able to do above all that we ask or think. Romans tells us that God works all things together for good, to them that love the Lord. But I think the Psalmist says it the best: "The Lord is on my side, I shall not fear, what can man do to me?" I did not expect these young visitors today. Beyond that, I barely put any deep thoughts into what I related to these kids from the pulpit. Still, God brought out a result in them that still tugs at my heart strings. I went to church to preach for a group of people that I know and love, to encourage them. I walked away, having been God's tool to encourage a group of strangers. I can honestly say it: it was all God and very little of me. I was a bumbling idiot today, but somehow that resonated with a larger audience. This is proof that God can use anyone.

The point of this whole rambling: God was much nearer to me than I realized. I have been very distracted by so many things lately (road trips, work, job interviews, household maintenance, etc.) that I did not do my normal deep research for today's message. In fact, I planned to only use the surface encouragement for the people to keep working on the improvements that God has put on their hearts to do. I was hoping it could help focus them on doing things to increase worship of Him. I felt that I was in a pretty secure place for this sermon. But God threw me a curveball. I had to cope with a different than usual church order (I have guest preached here before), and a large group of visitors sitting front and center. My own weaknesses were great, and I should have struck out. But, God stepped up to the plate for me, hit it out of the park, and gave me the honor of running the bases. For those who missed the analogy: God was right there, moving in a deeper manner than I could have expected. That's why I realized that He was so close to me, closer than my own breath. I thought I knew where I was in relationship to God, and He took me further in faith and ministry than I expected. It was wonderful.

Honestly, I don't know why God was so close today. But I am glad that he was. My encouragement to everyone out there who reads this, take a moment to look past the distractions of your life, look for God, and embrace Him... because He is closer to you than your breath. He will NEVER leave  you or forsake you. Don't trust in your worthiness, but rather trust in