OKFR (and the joy of faithfulness)

4/15/2014

I look back on OKFR with a heart full of gratitude for the blessings God poured out... He never fails to come through.

I praise Him for the privilege of service and of being His hands here on earth... for every precious individual He placed in my path to bless (and to bless me)... for every ounce of strength He gave... for all the smiles I saw on the faces of His children... for every song sung from the heart... for giving grace and words at the moments needed... for reminding me of His glorious plans for those yielded to Him... for proving yet again that He is faithful and true...

And most of all, for showing me afresh the joy of faithfulness, even in the hard things...

Friday afternoon found me sitting on a log overlooking the lake behind the cafeteria, and pleading with Him to give me the strength for the upcoming task. I was on for the next message and my topic was the beauty and power of trust even in pain.

I knew when I started planning this message several months ago that He wanted me to share the experiences I had been through with Lyme disease... and from the start, I had struggled with the thought of being so vulnerable as to share that with a whole congregation.

Now I knew in an hour I would be on the stage with 300 hundred eyes looking at me and expecting me to speak. And quite honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted to. At least, not about this. But I knew what He wanted, and I knew that I really wanted what He wanted too. I was excited about sharing... It's just that this was out of my comfort zone-- by a long ways.

The question in my heart at that moment... Am I willing to do the hard things for my Master?

Sure, it might not sound very hard to you. And really, in comparison with the sacrifices He made for us, it wasn't. But at that moment, with the clock ticking down, and my heart beating faster, it didn't seem the easiest thing in the world to get up and share the deep things of my heart.

I knew my duty though, and with another prayer of surrender to His will, I left my quiet log, and went to action.

And I can tell you that when God requires something "hard" of us, He always gives the strength we need to perform it. He gave me so much freedom up front that I was actually surprised at myself for not being more nervous. He is good, always.

When the hour had passed and I walked off the stage, it was with a joy deep in my heart that only comes from the knowledge of obedience.

And since I'm not the only one who has ever been asked to do something outside of their comfort zone, let me encourage you...

The harder the task given, the deeper the joy when performed.

Here a few pics for the picture lovers...
for a bunch more, go here www.foreverafamily.org