*Disclaimer: This is not a post about worshiping or making an idol of Starbucks or coffee.
Set a fire in my soul that I can’t contain that I cant control. I want more of you God, I want more of you God. One of the first songs we listened to when coming together in our new teams was Set a Fire by Jesus Culture. I love this song because it’s a cry to have the Holy Spirit take over and fill us with so much passion and boldness there’s nothing you can help do but do the works of the Spirit. I mean, that’s my interpretation. And ever since hearing it, I can see my team striving to live life this way. On the daily we’ve prayed for boldness for ourselves and each other, to do “scary” an intimidating things in the name of the Kingdom. And shoot dang has the Lord answered!
The Golden Girls started our time in Thailand up north in Chiang Mia. As we spent time together as a team, we realized we all had a pull towards more boldness, but how the heck were we supposed to get that when it seemed so terrifying? So we did the only thing we could think to do; pray. As we all sat in listening prayer one morning, three of us got an image of the team worshiping at the town square. Two of my teammates got the image of worshiping with singing and I got the image of sharing the Word. So with a little more prayer we started to prepare to head to the square later that night.
As we finished our dinner and started to walk towards the square we noticed an intimidating storm rolling in. To be completely honest, I thought I was off the hook for having to speak that night. Thankfully, my girls were more dedicated than I to being bold that night. With the square mostly empty, since most people were taking shelter before the rain hit, we spread out and worshiped loudly and boldly with our voices and a ukulele. Immediately, a stranger came and joined us and even clapped for us at the end of each song. After a song or two I actually forgot I was in public singly loudly and off key. It didn’t matter because I could feel the Father’s joy in our obedience and childlike hearts. But the call to boldness didn’t end there.
Soon the rain did come, so we invited our new friend to join us at the Starbucks across the street. We all headed to the balcony of this three story Starbucks, (we’re boujee and we know it). It was the perfect set up. A beautiful view of the city as the rain poured around us. Then two of my teammates felt the call to go invite the people sitting in Starbucks to join us. Another honest moment, I didn’t think anyone would come. As the minutes passed, however, seven more people came upstairs to join in our worship.
It. Was. Incredible.
We sang together. I got to speak a word that has been on my heart for a very long time. We got to pray with and over our new friends. I got to share the Gospel with a woman from China. A teammate got to encourage a man who is seeking meaning in his life and is considering Jesus. My teammates got to encourage two young Christians who were worried they wouldn’t find Jesus while they were overseas. Y’all, there was so much beauty in this night and so many pieces that wouldn’t of worked if Jesus hadn’t of been conducting it all. There is no denying that His hand was in this night, giving us boldness and calling us deeper into His Spirit.
I’ve always loved the saying, “If it scares you, it probably means you should do it.” Before I took this to mean, “yeah go ahead and jump off that cliff”, or “sure lets raft the Nile”. But now I’m seeing new fears to conquer, and how beautiful it is when you do. That night all of my teammates died to themselves in some way. We became less and He became greater. Since then we’ve been seeking new opportunities to do something “scary” and be bold for the Kingdom. Who knows, maybe that means jumping off a cliff to share the Gospel with someone on the way down.
