Forever My Valentine
Last week has to have been my favorite so far out of all the lecture weeks. Stephanie Murillo spoke on "Listening to God's Voice" and was purposeful in making the lecture interactive as well as personal. "Above all," she said, "if you take anything from this week, let it be that God wants to be in a relationship with you." Relationship implies communication. Relationship negates control. Relationship is a two-way street. So this week we practiced, in a sense, opening our ears to what God wanted to say to us.
Our last exercise of the week impacted me the most. We drew names out of a cup and then were told to go "write" them a letter from God. Die to your own thoughts and ask God to speak to you about what He wants to say. I probably wasn't the only person who was skeptical about this, but when my friend Sammie began to read the letter she had written from God to me, there was no doubt. God did choose to speak through that, and though I'm not advocating this as a foolproof way to hear God, it was very impactful for me. God spoke to my doubts, to my past as a missionary kid, and it wasn't anything that Sammie would have known to address.
God speaks - in words, in images, through people, through the Bible, in visions, and hundreds of other ways. Most importantly, when he speaks, his word aligns with his nature, his character, and his Word. That is how I know God speaks. Because He is consistent, faithful.
The Friday ministry, Beauty Arise, was the crowning moment of the week. After being surrounded all week by God's affirmation, love, and passion for everyone, we had two people come to Christ that night. Funny thing, I knew something had happened before the group even came back. But I wasn't there.
How Friday nights work: one group stays and prays while the other goes out to the streets. I stayed back this week, and during our time of worship I was convicted of my judgment. I kept thinking how we weren't doing anything important, that what we were doing wasn't actually going to do any good. But God rebuked me of that, because it isn't about us and how much we can do or say. He is the one that moves. And as I sat there, humbled because of my doubt, I saw (and I kid you not) a sunrise bursting behind my eyelids. Like, full blown, Lion King kind of sunrise!
It wasn't until later, when the other group came back, that I realized what God was trying to show me. New life had begun that night, people accepting the incredible love that God had for them. We all are so incredibly loved by the God of the Universe. He rejoices over us! Isn't that worth a sunrise? A million sunrises, bursting in color, a valentine's card written just for you. Because our God is that big. Because our God is that good. I'm so excited He's teaching me to fall in love with him too.
Our last exercise of the week impacted me the most. We drew names out of a cup and then were told to go "write" them a letter from God. Die to your own thoughts and ask God to speak to you about what He wants to say. I probably wasn't the only person who was skeptical about this, but when my friend Sammie began to read the letter she had written from God to me, there was no doubt. God did choose to speak through that, and though I'm not advocating this as a foolproof way to hear God, it was very impactful for me. God spoke to my doubts, to my past as a missionary kid, and it wasn't anything that Sammie would have known to address.
God speaks - in words, in images, through people, through the Bible, in visions, and hundreds of other ways. Most importantly, when he speaks, his word aligns with his nature, his character, and his Word. That is how I know God speaks. Because He is consistent, faithful.
The Friday ministry, Beauty Arise, was the crowning moment of the week. After being surrounded all week by God's affirmation, love, and passion for everyone, we had two people come to Christ that night. Funny thing, I knew something had happened before the group even came back. But I wasn't there.
How Friday nights work: one group stays and prays while the other goes out to the streets. I stayed back this week, and during our time of worship I was convicted of my judgment. I kept thinking how we weren't doing anything important, that what we were doing wasn't actually going to do any good. But God rebuked me of that, because it isn't about us and how much we can do or say. He is the one that moves. And as I sat there, humbled because of my doubt, I saw (and I kid you not) a sunrise bursting behind my eyelids. Like, full blown, Lion King kind of sunrise!
It wasn't until later, when the other group came back, that I realized what God was trying to show me. New life had begun that night, people accepting the incredible love that God had for them. We all are so incredibly loved by the God of the Universe. He rejoices over us! Isn't that worth a sunrise? A million sunrises, bursting in color, a valentine's card written just for you. Because our God is that big. Because our God is that good. I'm so excited He's teaching me to fall in love with him too.
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