At the beginning of our month 4 in Nicaragua God gave me a word describing what that month would entail: intimacy.
I can say that out of all of my friends and family, “intimate” would not be the first adjective I would use to describe our relationship. But, as I spent time studying the meaning of this word and recognizing my heart’s desire to know God even more, I came to understand that this is exactly what I have been looking for: to know Him more intimately and possess an intimate relationship with Him.
As the month progressed and we spent days overcoming challenges and celebrating blessings I witnessed God at work. But, I still hadn’t seen or experienced this intimacy He was promising. It wasn’t until an encounter with Him at a bar – of all places – He revealed Himself and His intimate love at just the right moment:
It was around 3:00pm in the afternoon and my teammate Katrina and I went out in search of some much needed coffee to accompany our quiet time. To my disappointment my favorite café was closed. We went to another but the atmosphere just wasn’t right. (I may be slightly picky when it comes to having quiet time and the right environment…)
At that point I was feeling a little like Goldilocks, too hot, too cold… Where was “just right?” Katrina suggested we possibly hit up Republika, a bar that advertised free coffee with breakfast in the morning. As it was late in the afternoon the odds didn’t appear to be in our favor but we picked up our things and checked it out anyway. Much to our delight we were one of the few people present and not only did they have coffee, they gave us FREE refills. Can I get an amen?!
As we settled down and pulled out our hardware (journals, pens, Bibles and water bottles) my eyes were drawn to the wall. It was a chalkboard with quotes, phrases and doodles drawn all over. My eyes locked on a phrase quoted from 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, kind and does not envy. God is love.” I pointed this out to Katrina and we both started reading the quotes and doodles drawn on the wall.
Little by little we read through them all until my eyes reached the top righthand corner of the room. Written clearly for all to see and sectioned off just for me was the following:
If you’ve been following along with my blog, back in November I made a commitment to devote myself to God’s word, starting with the book of Isaiah (My last good run was in my pantyhose). Well folks, five months later (yes five) I have finally finished it. But what was even more beautiful in my eyes was the unique and intimate way that God spoke to me through a chalkboard in a bar.
Over and over and over again in the book of Isaiah are the commands, “do not fear” and “do not be afraid.” It was on the 10th of March, 2015 in Catacamas, Honduras I first read this verse and marked it up like no other. It has become my life verse for this season and chapter of my life.
I sat on the bar stool astonished at the fact that of all the towns and cities in Nicaragua, bars and coffee shops (there are a lot) God brought me to this one at that exact moment to speak to me through this verse written by someone months before, to show me just how much He loves me, and how intimate He promises our relationship is and will continue to be.
Is anyone else blown away by this brilliance as much as I am?!
And the icing to the cake? God even brought the man who penned (or chalked?) this verse to our table. He works at the bar.
Conquering and overcoming fear is a theme that God is calling me out of in this season of my life. Just when I think I’ve “done it” He surprises me with new challenges that test my faith and help me see that I still have a long way to go. Even in this next season on the Race, as team changes have just taken place and there is even more newness and “unknown” than before, He continues to call me deeper and higher.
Will you continue to pray for for a spirit of boldness and steadfast faith in the known and unknown?
Much love,
A
