If
you have attended any Adventist University and it’s nearly finals week, you
know the drill. You check when your finals are and for any last opportunity
that awaits, for you to get your worship credits in before you get fined.
Tonight there were countless students with me scanning in for one of the last
dorm worships of the semester.
This
past week I have not been consistently setting aside special time to
authentically get to know my Jesus. I have frantically been rushing around and
just need to stop and rest in His grace. Somehow I’ve still been getting
chicken-skin (Hawaiian for goose-bumps) at the marvelous miracles that He’s
been doing for me, even while I’m moving at the speed of Martha.
God did something beautiful for me tonight and I want to let you in on it. A
couple hours ago, I decided to bring my Bible early to worship. I sat down
before many people trickled in so that I could have some special time with
Jesus. I opened my Bible to Matthew 6:25-34. That is the beautiful passage of
Jesus telling us not to worry about anything because when we seek God’s kingdom
first, everything else will come along!
I
quietly waited to see what God would do next. Everyone got scanned in and the
speaker began his message. The message was on the exact passage I had quietly
been reading just moments before! At the end of his beautiful testimony about
how God holds true and is faithful to us when we seek Him first, he gave us a
captivating choice to make. He told us that for our last fifteen minutes of
worship credit we could stay for a communion he had prepared or he would scan
us out early. He said that he wanted us to make the choice to choose spending
special time with Jesus, but to understand that he would not judge us if we
decided to leave. He dimmed the lights and put on Heavenly music. Everyone
quietly waited as we made our decisions.
I got
up out of my seat, walked over to the table set before us, and took hold of the
biggest communion bread, and fullest grape juice cup I have ever had! As soon
as I went others came along. I sat on the pew, completely surprised at how God
had totally reached out to me a million times more than I expected.
Right
afterwards I called my younger brother Noah to tell him what God had just done
for me. He excitedly said, “You mean you reached out to God, and then He
reached out to you?!” His response was so precious and is completely true! God
can’t wait to embrace us in His arms! He is crazy about you!
I
believe that coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous. One of
the sweet songs that I heard tonight sang, “There will always be a place at the
table and it won’t be the same till you come home!” Nothing is more satisfying
than coming into close contact with Jesus and realizing the encounter! Keep
reaching out to Jesus. Leave the worry behind. Stop running like Martha and me.
Breathe in the beauty of His love for you.
