The past few Sundays, I
was asked to lead worship in our Middle School and then High School group at my
church. I lead fairly often in one of the two rooms, and have grown to
really love worshipping with these precious teens and preteens. I
remember how forming those years were for me in regards to my relationship with
the Lord and my desire to, and understanding of worship.
Watching them grow
in their faith, and encouraging them in their walk with the Lord has been a
joy. Every Sunday I pray for the Lord to download something into
my heart that will reach these kids. Life and culture are different
then they were when I was their age, but that doesn't change our Father or how
He works. And every Sunday I pray that the things that are
said, prayed, or shared will sink beyond the momentary participation and stick
in the hearts and minds of he hearer. The past 2 Sundays the Lord
put the same thing on my heart. Something that in some ways I
think He downloaded more for me then for them. But it is still
resonating with me now as I type this. About 6 or 7 years ago, my
brother, who I have always been close to, who grew up in the same household,
going to the same church, having many of the same friends, confessed to me,
that he no longer believed in God. My brother has always had strong
opinions and has always been a bit stubborn, but even with him majoring in
philosophy and theology in college, I didn't see this coming.
My heart was broken and
continues to break for him as I pray daily that the Lord would draw him back,
like the prodigal son. That his heart would be softened to the truth and
that he would realize the lies he has been believing are nothing but the enemy.
But as I thought about
this, on this Sunday morning preparing for church, I heard the Lord say
"What he (My brother) chooses not to believe, does not change the who I
am. It does not change the Truth". And I was
reminded in that moment, that the magnitude of the majesty of our creator and
King, is neither affected by or altered by what we choose to believe or not
believe about Him. That our opinions don't change His power. He is
the same yesterday, today, and forever more. And our thoughts
about Him do not change who He is....they change who we are. We
have the choice to encounter Him, and learn more about Him, not because He owes
us an explanation, or is affected by our opinions of Him, but because He wants
us to know Him, He wants us to experience His love, His goodness, His kindness,
His fullness of life.
I was reminded this past
week of the story of Moses from Exodus 33. The Bible tells us that Moses
would meet with God in a tent and the Lord would speak to him, face to face as
to a friend. And while in the tent of meeting, Moses would plead on
behalf of the Israelites. Asking the Lord not to leave them or send them
away without His presence. The Lord responds in verse 17 saying
"I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you
and I know you by name". They had an intimate, relationship.
The Lord honored Moses's request for an entire people because of their
relationship. Because of Moses's faithfulness and heart to serve and
honor Him. And then the Lord showed him His glory.
Here is the thing.....we
no longer have to rely on someone to plead for us, to meet with the Lord on our
behalf. To communicate with the Lord and then tell us what to do or how
to obey. We no longer have to encounter the Lord vicariously through
someone else. The veil has been torn. Jesus has come and made a
way for us to be with our Father. We have direct access to His presence
and to have an encounter with Him just like Moses did. We can seek
His face, we can know His heart, we can meet with Him at any place and time.
A huge part of the act of worship is taking the time to do
just that. To spend time in His presence, experiencing an encounter with
the Living God, to see His glory, and hear His voice. And lift up
His name. And I believe that the heavens move when we spend that kind of
time with our King. Intentional, "Tent of Meeting" kind of time.
And maybe what our country needs right now more than anything, is for the
children of God, to spend more time encountering Him. More time in His
presence, getting to know Him more intimately and seeking His glory above all
else. That He would say of us, "I will do the very thing you
have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name".
