Sometimes the Holy Spirit shouts at us and other times it is just a whisper, an urge, a simple knowing that we are supposed to move forward or stop in the thing we are currently doing.
Last night, after getting to help lead worship for a Bible study held for the people served by the soup kitchen we are working at, Kelsey (friend, team leader, fellow ENFP according the Meyers Briggs personality test) and I were pretty tired. We had been invited to go to the Wednesday night church service held by the same church that runs the soup kitchen and as the Bible study came to a close were faced with a decision: To go or not to go.
It was one of those moments where we could have gone back to our hostel and no one would have known whether we had asked the Holy Spirit. No one would have held us accountable. As Kelsey scrubbed dishes and I dried she told me that she was physically really tired and would I make the decision as to whether we should go or not. As soon as I asked the Holy Spirit, I heard the word “go!”
In that moment I was able to encourage Kelsey and later as we were walking outside and I was realizing how tired I was and “really, how was our going and sitting in a church service really going to make a difference at all?” Kelsey was able to encourage me and so between the two of us helping each other out, we set out for the church. Praise God for those little steps we took! He gave us these little victories of obedience and then multiplied them!
Upon arriving at the church, not only were we able to hear an amazing teaching on Caleb’s wholehearted obedience and faithfulness to God in the book of Joshua (something we have both been asking the Lord to help us grow in), but we were also able to chat with several different people who have served in the soup kitchen and just love and be loved on by the community.
On the thirty minute walk back to our hostel, we were talking about faithfulness and what it really means, when we were stopped by an American Christian, Schuyler, who had been doing ministry in Greece for the past few weeks. He asked if he could walk with us and just speak in English with fellow Americans and fellow English-as-a-first-language speakers. We ended up getting to grab dinner together, during which Schuyler shared that meeting with us was a huge answered prayer and the whole night was so encouraging for all three of us.
If we hadn’t obeyed the little go, no one would have held us accountable. That is a legalistic viewpoint of the situation. The truth is, if we hadn’t obeyed the little “go”, we would have missed out on seeing how God nurtures us with His word, how he loves us through His body and how he invites us into serving one another through our divinely appointed meeting with Schuyler. If we hadn’t gone to the church service, we wouldn’t have heard a much needed teaching on faith, a word I have been grappling with for a awhile, and we would have already been back home instead of walking along the sidewalk and meeting Schuyler.
As I work on walking out obedience and faithfulness in the little things, it is really beautiful to watch God multiply them three or four times over!
Life Updates:
I have enjoyed…hearing some of the testimonies of the women we work with at the soup kitchen. It is so encouraging to hear stories of faithfulness!
I cried when…It hit me (again) that seven days ago a refugee women gave birth out on the streets to a beautiful little boy and that police officers pressure hosed families out of a park because local business complained about how they were an “eyesore”
I loved…the little girl who ran into my arms as soon as she saw me walk up to her families cardboard square in the park were many of the refugee families are staying.
I am listening to…”Mt. Zion” by The Helsers
I felt adventurous…when Kelsey and I climbed to the roof of the building we are staying at. It was quiet and there was a stunning view of the city!
