I ate lunch today with my brother’s pastor from college, which was a nice time to debrief camp a little more with someone who spends a lot of time in the Spirit. Afterwards he invited me to a prayer service at his church. We spent an hour just soaking in the Spirit, not really bringing our prayers to the Lord, but more trying to rest in His Spirit. About 20 minutes in I knew this prayer service was the reason I stopped in Gainesville, FL.
At the end of the service we all stood in front and received prayer from Father Ron, the man with whom I ate lunch, and a couple of his prayer leaders. It was great preparation for me to return home – just what I needed. The Lord reminded me that he moves every day for all who are ready to receive, not just at a camp or a retreat. Father Ron was able to speak some very affirming and life-giving words over me. I was having some doubts and concerns about how I was going to re-enter my community at home and was even having some trouble discerning where those concerns were coming from. Father Ron offered a truly unique perspective that gave me a good bit more clarity as I prepare to go home tomorrow.
God is good and He is faithful to complete the works he starts. The work He began in me at camp is just the beginning of what He will be doing over the next year. If I hadn’t been caught completely off-guard tonight I think he could’ve done even more work in me this evening. I thought I was only stopping in Gainesville to see my good friend from high school, but God was able to work in a day that was becoming the beginning of a return to the mundane. I pray He continues to shake me out of my expectations every day, because when He does I’m forced to consider how He is working and to trust even less in my own understanding and even more in Him.
