Have you ever watched a life be transformed before your eyes? I have, and did this weekend. I think my favorite thing about youth ministry is watching a young person allow God to move in his or her heart and walk away a brand new person, to see a timid heart worshiping with abandon.
This past weekend we packed up the bus and van and cars and about 40 of our favorite people and drove an hour and a half to the Generation Conference. Three nights and two full days of being in God's presence ... priceless. I watched people respond to what God was saying and literally transform before my eyes. It takes guts sometimes to respond to God. To go up for a specific altar call when we've been trying our hardest to look like we have it all together is not an easy choice. To confess to a leader a sin we've been hiding, to allow God to take us to an area of hurt that we've been trying to smother for a long time: that's courage. I'm really proud of people who do that. People who count their relationship with God to be truly the most important thing.
Every heart has the opportunity to respond to God's presence. God comes to meet us daily. Sometimes we're at a conference, a service or a meeting and it's obvious. Sometimes we're watching TV and we hear Him whisper, "come away". Sometimes we're walking in the autumn sunshine and our heart swells ... you know what I mean. Every single day God gives us the opportunity to respond to Him: to change, to grow, to be encouraged.
I think the saddest thing to see is a heart holding away from God what He's trying to heal, or transform. Do we really think that we can heal ourselves? Or can we really know better than the very One who created us from dust? Like a child who is so upset that they push away the very thing that they want, we push away the One who can really bring freedom to our broken lives.
I'm challenged today. I'm challenged to respond to His presence at home ... with 3 kids, laundry, cleaning, meetings, phone calls, cooking, feeding. Those things are not excuses to miss out on His presence. It's my choice to respond and to slip away for a few special moments alone in His presence. It's always been my choice to allow Him to transform me.
This past weekend we packed up the bus and van and cars and about 40 of our favorite people and drove an hour and a half to the Generation Conference. Three nights and two full days of being in God's presence ... priceless. I watched people respond to what God was saying and literally transform before my eyes. It takes guts sometimes to respond to God. To go up for a specific altar call when we've been trying our hardest to look like we have it all together is not an easy choice. To confess to a leader a sin we've been hiding, to allow God to take us to an area of hurt that we've been trying to smother for a long time: that's courage. I'm really proud of people who do that. People who count their relationship with God to be truly the most important thing.
Every heart has the opportunity to respond to God's presence. God comes to meet us daily. Sometimes we're at a conference, a service or a meeting and it's obvious. Sometimes we're watching TV and we hear Him whisper, "come away". Sometimes we're walking in the autumn sunshine and our heart swells ... you know what I mean. Every single day God gives us the opportunity to respond to Him: to change, to grow, to be encouraged.
I think the saddest thing to see is a heart holding away from God what He's trying to heal, or transform. Do we really think that we can heal ourselves? Or can we really know better than the very One who created us from dust? Like a child who is so upset that they push away the very thing that they want, we push away the One who can really bring freedom to our broken lives.
I'm challenged today. I'm challenged to respond to His presence at home ... with 3 kids, laundry, cleaning, meetings, phone calls, cooking, feeding. Those things are not excuses to miss out on His presence. It's my choice to respond and to slip away for a few special moments alone in His presence. It's always been my choice to allow Him to transform me.
2 comments:
"Like".
Makes me miss conferences!
Good challenge about a heart holding something from God...
Hi I found a link from the Scicchitano's blog. And read about the Gen Con And thought I would give you a link to my blog
http://www.albanyjesusfreak.blogspot.com/
there try that one and leave a comment if it works
Post a Comment