I was exhausted. So exhausted I fell asleep around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night. I could not keep my eyes open. Worse, I had no idea what God wanted me to preach the following morning. I awoke around 11:00 p.m. and from then until well after 3:00 a.m. I prayed and pleaded with God to give me direction about a message. I mulled over scripture after Scripture but none seemed right.
I had been preaching through the book of Philippians verse by verse for weeks but somehow knew God wanted me to preach something different. I did not have a clue. I had multiple thoughts rumbling in my head but nothing seemed like a clear word from God. Over and over I asked God what He wanted to say to His people. Nothing came clear.
Somewhere after 3:00 a.m. I drifted back to sleep. When I awoke it was 6:30 a.m. which sent my mind spiraling about what I was to preach all over again. Then something settled. Actually multiple verses settled. I hurriedly jotted down some notes and then busied myself showering and dressing.
The message would not cause me to be popular. Most hard hitting messages don't. This one would really put me out there. I had prayed it through and felt convicted it was the message I was supposed to share. That did not make it any easier to deliver.
Brenda said it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in our gathering. She heard a few faint "amens" and so forth. God had me so engrossed in the message I did not even hear them. During the invitation I knelt to pray at the eighth chair on the front row. Soon afterward I felt a hand touch my shoulder. My prayer got interrupted with thoughts about who had come to pray for me.
When I heard that voice interceding for me I started to weep. I could not choke back the tears. My youngest son, Tuner, had left the sound booth where he serves each week to come pray for his burdened dad. I just taught his Sunday school class. I challenged him and the others to willingly listen for Jesus' leadership in the service and to obey Him without hesitation or excuses. Turner felt Jesus prompt him to come and pray for me. Something I do not recall him ever doing in a worship gathering before.
To experience my youngest son maturing in his faith and going from receiving ministry to actually giving ministry touched me more deeply than I can put into words. Since our tenure at Heritage began I have seen Him grow by leaps and bounds in his relationship with Jesus. I don't know what God has planned for him but I sure know God used him in a special way to touch me yesterday morning. I am humbled and honored to be his dad.
His special touch helped me. God brought me peace. I renewed my resolve. I encountered God through the special touch of my fifteen year old son. O Jesus, please do it again.
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