I remember watching The Little Mermaid in middle school and being thrilled when Ursula agreed to grant Ariel’s wish for legs, … then totally devastated when she added, “It won’t cost much – just your voice!”
Her voice?! No! Not her voice! Anything but that!
This is similar to how my teammate Melissa felt a few weeks ago. She leads worship at her church at home, and she totally expected to do so with our squad too. But when we arrived in the Philippines, she came down with a cold and a sore throat, so that opportunity was taken away from her. You could say that she was under attack by the enemy or that the Lord had other plans …
Now I don’t sing well (although I do sing often!), so I’m not in exactly the same situation, but I do feel like I am being completely stripped of the qualities I use to identify myself. No one here seems care that I have led countless Bible Studies, for example, and some of them don’t even realize how energetic and funny I am. Yeah, I surrendered my rights during training camp, but I didn’t realize how that would actually play out.
The Lord is examining my heart – He’s taking me in deep, to the dark corners of my soul – and He is cleaning it out of anything that it not glorifying to Him. I have agreed to go there and do this. And it hurts. Friends, it hurts so much. There is a lot of PRIDE getting in the way.
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
and have been called according to his purpose.
God loves me – He loves every one of us – and He is eager to tell us and show us.
One afternoon last week, a few of my squadmates and I were praying for the kitchen staff at the Center, and Allison said something along the lines of, Isn’t it crazy cool that God would send us five ding-dongs all the way from America to the Philippines to encourage this lady? I wish he would do that for me. Oh, yeah, He did do that!
God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
– Romans 5:8
He is constantly doing crazy stuff like that!
“How do you show her you love her?” sings Giselle of Enchanted, as she dances around Central Park to a reggae beat. “He’ll find his own way to tell you with the little things he’ll do!”
The Lord has sent me lots of personalized messages of love – impressions, experiences, comments, etc – and I am so thankful for the people who obey Him and are used by Him to deliver and CONFIRM the messages.
I’m sure I’ll have much more to write about His provision and blessings this year, but here are just a few examples of how He spoke to me lately through 1) books and 2) music.
1) Most of you know that I LOVE to read, but I didn’t get to bring any books with me since there was no room in my bag. Thankfully, there are bookshelves full of Christian fiction at the Center where we are staying. Three times already, I have picked up “random” novels after brief browsing (chosen because they have the least cheesy titles), and they those books were so good! Not the stories in particular, but the messages of Truth that spoke to my heart. Also, last week, I was bummed because I hadn’t brought a particular book with me, one that I knew would be perfect for what I was dealing with. Later that same day, one of my teammates brought the book to a meeting, saying she thought one of us might like to read it. No way! Not a coincidence. It was exactly what I needed.
2) I recognized the power of Ginny Owens’ lyrics the first time I ever heard her sing, and each time I listen to her songs, I am convicted of Truth. The other night I was feeling gloomy, so I sought her gentle voice. A moment later, one of my friends came to find me because she wanted to recommend a song for me to listen to … you guessed it!
I could travel over oceans, cross / the deserts, climb the mountains / Just to share Your story, bring You / glory, and win souls for You. / … / I could give away my money and my / clothes and my food / To restore those people who are / poor, lost, and down-and-out. / … / But if I do not love, I am nothing. / I could live a flawless life, / Never cheat or steal or lie, / And always speak so kindly, smile / warmly, and go about doing good. / I could dedicate myself to do what / everyone else wants me to- / Listen to them, compliment them, / say the things I should. / I could show up every Sunday, lead / the Choir and Bible Study / And they all might come to know me / as a leader and a friend. / Oh, I could achieve success on / Earth, but success cannot define my worth / …
either way, I receive His extravagant love.
How about YOU?
I hope you know that God loves you, and He is trying to show you just how much.
Are you paying attention now, or are you waiting for a golden engraved invitation?
I stand at the door and knock.
.
