This past week was quite an incredible week for me. I got to spend it in Chicago with a group of middle school and high school students from my church. We were partnering with a local church to impact their city.
There were so many moments that were incredible and I will share some of those soon, but one moment was really special for me.
In our lives we all have these moments where we can look at our lives and we can take a pulse of where we are at or maybe take some time to look back and assess as to where we have come from and where we are going.
In my journey to know Jesus there have been quite a few of these defining or redefining moments. There have been moments where The Lord captures my attention to cheer me on in my pursuit of him, and there have also been moments where he has gotten my attention to help me readjust in my chasing after him.
This last week I had a moment with God that was so sweet.
I pray that we never forget that Christianity is really all about living a life of Love for God that impacts and infects every area of our lives.
On our last day in Chicago I was planning on getting up early to shower. I set an alarm for 6 am and went to bed.
At 5:15 I woke up.
It was one of those times where you open your eyes and you are instantly fully awake, not groggy or tired and still trying to wake up, but wide awake and not going back to sleep.
For a few moments after I looked at my watch I was a little frustrated, I wanted to sleep.
Then I began to feel this longing inside of my heart. I asked The Lord if it was Him and he simply responded with "Steal away."
I sat up on my mostly deflated air mattress, and began to talk with God. I was overwhelmed by a loving Father. He had the giddiness in his voice of a child waking up a parent on the morning they are supposed to go to Disneyland. He woke me up because he was excited to spend time with me.
I sat there. Speechless. Speechless that a Holy God desires to know me and spend time with me.
At 5:45 I decided to get up and shower and steal away again before the chaos of communal living began.
I grabbed my Bible and brewed some coffee as quietly as possible, I selfishly didn't want anyone else to be awake. I searched for a place to be quiet and alone and found myself in the kitchen.
Surrounded by industrial ovens and cook-tops, plates and pans, pots and utensils I settled in to spend time with my King.
“ 1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! 2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! 3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. ”
My heart was bursting with prayers and passion. In that small kitchen God began to move powerfully.
I found myself praying for God to move in our generation, to split the heavens and come down. To invade our lives.
Then Isaiah 64:4 gripped my heart... He is willing to move, are we willing to wait?
I was joined by a very dear friend and the Leader of our motley crew of world changers, Zach. I poured him a cup of coffee and we set off together to love on Jesus and be loved on by Jesus.
It was so simple. Bibles. Pens. Journals. iPhone with worship. Coffee. Dirty floors. Clutter. Shadows. Stillness. Calm. Musty. Humid. Hot. Pure. Intense. Passionate.
There is something about spending time with Jesus when we remove our checklist of things to pray for and things we need him to say or do and just present ourselves to him to do whatever he wants.
In those precious moments before the rest of the building woke up, before the noise of the day began, before the responsibilities of life consumed my time, before others, I spent time being a son.
And after all being a son is what my life is really all about. He is a faithful Father who gives good gifts to his kids when they ask and when they wait.
Lets be people that diligently spend time stealing away to wait with our Poppa...
Zach