Sunday Reflections: One of Those Moments |
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You know the feeling…there is an event approaching, there is a lot of build-up to it, you know it’s an important opportunity, you have done everything humanly possible to prepare for it, and you have spent weeks calling upon God to bless this moment as only He is capable of doing. You try to imagine how it will look and feel, what the response will be. And the moment arrives…
Last Sunday morning (November 22) was one of those moments for me. It was commitment Sunday for our “Now Is The Time” campaign. The ground work for this day began months ago; and since August dozens of RiverWalk members have invested time and energy, preparing the church for this day. For months we have had a simple prayer: “Lord, what do you you want to do through me?” The last 24 hours leading up to “the moment” were spent in prayer–every time slot was spoken for as we called upon God for His glory to be made known among the RiverWalk family.
Near the end of the Sunday morning assembly, we called for commitment cards to be brought to the front of the auditorium. I bowed my head, closed my eyes, listened to the song that was playing, and prayed for hearts to be moved. And they were…people came from all over the auditorium to place their commitment cards in the basket.
It was incredible! It was amazing! It was God answering so many prayers, putting His power and glory on display through RiverWalk members. It was everything I thought it might be…and so much more!
When God shows up, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. When God is present, the routine is suddenly energized. When God shows up, our human effort is multiplied many times over by the power of the Holy Spirit. When God makes His presence known, lives are changed.
God made His presence known last Sunday. It was one of those moments.
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When I first heard that we were going to be asked to take our commitment cards to the front Sunday morning, I have to admit that I was very nervous about it. I was very conscious of Christ’s admonition to not give or pray to be seen of others. I was also self-conscious. That’s just not something that we do in our fellowship.
Since my husband and I were sitting on the 2nd row with the praise team, we were among the first to put our card in the basket. And when I turned around to return to my seat, there was this amazing crowd of people coming forward to put their offering in the basket. So much of a crowd, in fact, that I almost couldn’t get back to my seat on the 2nd pew! All I could do was cry, tears of joy that God had wrapped each and every one of those people in His arms, as if to say, “I’ve heard you, and this is what I want to do through you.”
I too was surprised at the outpouring of people that went to the front. I too know about the admonition to not pray or give to be seen by others; sometimes, though, folks need an example. I don’t think an example was needed Sunday, however, as many people had already filled out their cards. What a great day that was!