Ok, that is a tease question. Sometimes I think about where I park when I go to church. At times when I know there is a potential that there will be a lot of visitors, I try to park far away as a courtesy to those. Most of the time though, I look for a reasonably close spot and one I can get to quick. Today, I pulled into the parking lot and didn't see anything open right away. I thought about driving up closer to the door and then I chose to go farther out. Why? I guess you'll have to read on to know!
I pulled off to the right, pulled into a stall, then pulled through to the adjoining stall. So, essentially, I parked as far as I could away from the door (in a straight line), but still parked on the parking lot. When I got out of the car, my thoughts were about why I had parked there. Fleeting thoughts, but not a "no thought" moment. I didn't know that God was preparing me for what He was going to do with me.
I got into the service, it had already started. I walked up to the front row where Michael had a spot saved for me. Then, when it was time for the sermon, the special speaker was introduced. May I suggest going to check out Dr. Michael Brown? (askdrbrown.org) He was our guest speaker and a thoroughly anointed man of God. He used the scripture in Mark where Jesus casts out the legion of demons into the herd of pigs. The point that he emphasized though was Mark 5:17. There was a huge miracle and the people asked that Jesus leave there. Jesus is scary. Complete commitment to Jesus is scary. We want easy, we want our lives to be the way we think they should be and sometimes God makes it clear that He has a way and sometimes that way is scary. God wants complete surrender. He wants us to be completely devoted to Him once we step outside the walls of the church. It is easy to say we give it all to Him, but then we go on our way and we don't include Jesus in every area of our lives. He wants it all and sometimes that looks scary.
I am not one to go forward very often and ask for prayer. I am not afraid of that practice, I just usually speak to God on my own and don't include someone else in praying for me. Today, that was different. I didn't feel I needed to go and confess a sin that I have been harboring, I don't struggle with much when it comes to spending time with God and I feel I am doing fairly well. I am far from perfect or complete, but I am not feeling a sense of conviction that would spur me on to going to the front and asking for prayer. But today, I did. When I got to the lady who would pray for me, I said, "I just need to know what it is He wants from me. He needs to reveal it to me." So, we prayed. She doesn't know me so there was nothing specific she chose to pray for, she just prayed. She prayed that God would heal my past hurts (I don't think I have any unresolved hurts), and she prayed that I would devote my time to God and forgive others. (I think!) All in all, it was not the words that she said, it was the heart that I carried up there. I want to be all in, I want to be used by God to further His kingdom. That was my heart cry.
So, the service was over, I had some issues about my giving method that I needed to clarify. So, I went to the information desk and got that question answered. While there I saw a friend whom I hadn't seen in a couple of weeks, so I went over to greet her. She had her son and daughter-in-law with her and they are from San Diego. So, we chatted a bit. I have never been there, but have heard it is nice even though it is in California. I moved on. There was a table offering information about foster care and adoption. I went to that table to get information, because, as you may know, adoption is near and dear to my heart. While I was standing there, another friend came by and tapped me on the shoulder. This is my friend who grew up as a missionary kid. She comes to church alone because her husband has decided church is no longer needed his life. I know this is a struggle for her. I hadn't seen her in several months. We talked about the services. I told her I had already gone and she told me she was headed in. We said our goodbyes and I told her to text me sometime. I then headed out to my car, stopping to chat to some other friends along the way.
I got out to the parking lot, almost to my car and that really really really still small almost not heard voice said, "Go back in!" (almost not heard)
"Really God, I have a lot to do today," I argued.
"GO BACK IN. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU HATED SITTING ALONE IN CHURCH, GO BACK IN AND SIT WITH HER," the voice got louder.
"But, I have a lot to..." I turned around and headed back in. I mean, there was a lot more chatting about this before I turned around, I will spare you the details. On the way back, God assured me He would redeem my time for me.
As I got to the door, one of the greeter said, "Good morning...again?"
"Yeah," I explained. "I had an argument with God, and He won!"
I went in and asked God to please make the rest easy for me. Let me be able to find her quickly and easily. She was right at the end of a row with a lot of empty seats near her. I tapped her on the shoulder and climbed into the row. I said, "The Lord told me you needed me to come sit with you."
Tears started flowing from her eyes. "Thank you," was about all she could express.
After the service, we hugged and I expounded on my argument with God. She said, "As I came in I said, 'Well, Lord, here I am, alone again.' God told me He was there and you have friends who are here with you. And then, you walked in."
I have nothing else to say. (Well, that's not true!) But I mean, I do not need to explain anything about this. Had I parked closer, I would have been in my car and out of there before I could give a chance for God to speak. Had I not surrendered just moments before that, I may have missed an opportunity to be used by God to bless someone else. None of this, even the choice of where to park was me. It was all God and all for His glory.
"And now you know, the rest of the story!! Paul Harvey, good day!!"
