When God shows off

I'm sitting here at the end of an awesome day on such a spiritual high. I love it when God just shows off. I prayed this morning just feeling very disconnected and pretty much spiritually spent. Having just come back from Haiti on Friday, Saturday wasn't much of a rest day, and Sunday was back in the saddle with pulling together Children's Worship, then Monday started with the 5 hour drive to Ridgecrest. I was at the point of just wanting to be in God's presence.

And then He did it! He just showed off and filled my cup to overflowing. Started this morning with a message from Genesis 4. I love when God takes a Scripture that I've read many times and speaks something absolutely new into my spirit. God reminded me that He values the condition of my heart more than the offering in my hand.

But then God took it to another level at the Woman 2 Woman session. It was clearly evident that God's Spirit was at work and that we were in His Holy Presence. Again, the subject was a familiar passage that started with the resurrection of Lazarus. But then, did you know that  the Bible says that many Jews believed in Jesus because of what He had done in the life of Lazarus to the point that the chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus? I was reminded that there are people who oppose us and seek our downfall because of the work that Christ is doing in our lives.

She gave us each a kernel of popcorn and had us think through how that kernel actually becomes popcorn. So just how does popcorn pop? "Only popcorn kernels can pop, and the secret is water. Each kernel contains a small amount of water stored in a circle of soft starch inside the hard outer casing. When heated, the moisture turns to steam, creating pressure within. As the pressure builds, the casing eventually gives way, and the kernel explodes and pops, allowing the water to escape as steam and turning the kernel inside out."

With just that illustration, God reminded me that we cannot be who we are fully called to be until we go through some pressure. God brings out what's on the inside and gives us a breakthrough so that who we truly are is revealed. Hallelujah! God deserves all the glory for any work He has accomplished in my life. And He was definitely moving in the lives of women in that room today. The emotion was thick and His attention to every experience was intimate and real.

Pastor Fred Luter, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, concluded the evening with the admonition to have a renewed mind. Again, a Scripture that I have read many times, but it was a great reminder that God's Word should influence every decision that I make.

And somewhere in all of this day I was trying to help one of my son's consider the consequences of his own life's choices, and feeling quite inadequate as a parent this weekend. My youngest son encouraged my heart as he has unknowingly done many times. He is truly a young man after God's own heart. When I witness my 10-year-old he puts me to shame because he has a pure, unshakeable faith in God--that God is who He said He is, and God can do what He said He can. We were discussing a particular situation, and his simple response is "We should pray." He just believes God and his first option is always to go to the Lord. I am blessed to have such a child.

So just a few days ago I was in Haiti admiring the beauty of His creation as I staired at the mountaintops one morning. But even in that I had the sinking feeling that I had somehow missed what God was up to, that I hadn't accomplished what He sent me there to do. And then this morning I found myself staring out at more of God's beautiful creation this time in the mountains of my home state of North Carolina. And this is what God spoke to me. He has an appointed time and sometimes my expectations don't line up with His plan. He is still going to accomplish His will, but I need to be obedient. So my spiritual renewal didn't take place in Haiti, but instead on my own home soil. God is forever faithful.

And a friend encouraged me as well about my Haiti trip....she said....remember God's Word, some plant, some water, but it is always God that gives the increase.

So yeah....today was a string of WOW! Moments. I love it when God shows off!

P.S. I will post photos and a day by day account of my Haiti trip starting this Friday.