Last night, our team was exhausted and we needed to get up at 04:00 to start working in the graveyard. We headed to bed a little earlier than usual. At about 03:00, most of us were awakened by the loudest clap of thunder I have heard since before the World Race. I think I may have jumped a good foot above my bed. Anyway, the rain was pouring down, and at 04:30, our hosts called saying our work day was delayed, and then texted an hour or so later saying it was cancelled altogether. It rained heavily through most of the day.
Most of us went back to bed and slept. Some stayed up. When we all had gotten up again, we decided to do team time and feedback. One of our teammates, who was facilitating the time together, suggested we take extra time and share where we were in life. This led into an incredible time of asking questions of our teammates, working through emotions, and challenging each other on several levels. At the end of the day, the entire team realized that we had fallen out of know who each other are. We had no idea where our own teammates were struggling, nor did we know how to help. Part of this was the crazy schedule, but we also hadn’t really made a commitment to each other to dig deep into each other’s lives. We discovered we were missing an essential ministry within our team, without which we could not survive as a team.
God knew this. He knew the team needed a day of reflection and digging deep, so he sent massive thunderstorms to cancel our early morning ministry. He tuned our hearts into the new ministry of being with each other.
My lesson for today: Don’t get disappointed when something cancels ministry. Maybe God has something better waiting for us. I should be asking God what ministry He has in mind because He canceled the original plan. I might just discover something even better than the original.
#GodIsInControl #redefiningdisciple
#THIRD
