One of the cool things that we at the base have gotten to be a part of this summer is hosting worship nights for short term teams in town. In my last blog, I shared about God using one of these nights to bring physical healing to a woman. This last week, we hosted a worship night for a youth group from Pennsylvania, and I saw God heal in a whole different kind of way.
I felt a sense of anticipation the whole day. Maybe it was because I was listening to Bethel worship all day and having some good Jesus time, but by the time we arrived at the ministry house where the short term team was, I was fired up. We got there early enough that we had a lot of time to worship and seek the Lord as a team on what He had in store for the team and for the evening. We felt Him speaking that this was going to be a night for these kids to take Him out of the box, to cross the boundaries of comfort they had set up for themselves.
This youth group came from a more conservative church, so many of the songs we regularly play for worship were brand new to them. Most of them weren’t used to singing during worship, and sort of just looked at us as we began to play songs. One girl, however, had tears streaming down her face almost immediately. The Lord was moving in her.
After a few songs, Luis and his wife Maria came up to the front of the room. Luis is the ministry contact for all of the short term teams that Adventures hosts. Maria began to speak in Spanish as Luis translated. This is where things got a bit crazy. She said that the Holy Spirit was present in the room, and that He wanted to bring healing to people, to break down walls that were holding people back. She began to pray over specific people, and the whole atmosphere began to shift.Before, most of the room felt disengaged, like they were physically present but not really actively involved. With Maria’s words, with the presence of the Holy Spirit made known, the kids took notice.
I soon found myself huddled with five kids, most of whom I’d never even talked to before. They were weeping and clearly touched by what the Lord was doing. One of the girls told me that she had come to Guatemala not really sure if God even existed, and all throughout the day He had been revealing Himself to her. The same was true for much of the group, really, and it all had culminated into this night.
I began to seek the Lord in that moment on what He would have me speak to these kids. One by one, He began to give me words about them, about their character and what He had in store for their lives. One of the girls was called to love the people the church rejected. Another was an atmosphere changer, actively bringing the presence of the Lord with her everywhere she went. The boy in the group had the ability to see people with the eyes of the Lord and love them as He loves. He was inviting these kids into a life-changing relationship with Him, showing them that they had a purpose and a calling in this life.
This was one of the most powerful nights of worship I’ve ever gotten to be a part of. It wasn’t because of how good the music was, or how loudly we sang, or anything of that sort. It was powerful because we sought the presence of the Lord in it. I’ve been in worship services where the music was absolutely incredible, but it wasn’t about the Lord. Its all about the posture of the heart. That night with that youth group, the hearts were postured towards Him, and lives will never be the same because of it.
