GOD'S GREATEST WORK
There he stood, earnest, enduring, energetic, empowered by God. Moments before, we had been sitting together. I hadn't seen Steve in a couple of years so I enjoyed worshipping beside him and fitting in the odd word or two when we could. I asked him how he was doing and he said, "Wonderful, amazing, couldn't be better". I have to admit that put me back a bit. It's not very often that you get a review of one's life quite as "two thumbs up" as that.
Now Steve was standing before the High School age youth from all over the Maritimes and he was preaching on Jonah. The question he returned to time and again was, "How long will you run? How long will you run from God?" In the midst of his sermon he shared how one time he was caught on a Sunday morning in a church-going family's house and was invited to go to church. He loved this family and basically lived there, but in his own words, he wasn't about to "do the God thing." So, rather than go, he walked several miles on a cold wintry day to avoid the experience. It didn't matter that it had snowed heavily the night before and he was only wearing shoes, the cold and the wet and the miles were a small price to pay when one is running away from God.
I met Steve about seven years ago. We had just had a Billy Graham Associate Crusade in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Steve had gone forward during the crusade and a buddy of mine was given Steve's card. We happened to be together when he dropped into the gas station where Steve was working and introduced himself. Steve had stopped running. Seems no matter how fast, or how far one runs, God, the Hound of Heaven, is able to keep up the chase.
From there, Steve ended up going to Maritime Christian College. He graduated this spring and is now in full-time ministry. As I looked at Steve, his nervousness, his zeal, his emotion shining through each word he spoke, I couldn't help but review the journey. It did my heart good to see him so on fire, so happy, so amazingly powerful in his challenge to stop running. I could tell this was life or death to Steve. It wasn't easy for him to get up and preach to the crowd, but he did it filled with the power and conviction of God. I had looked forward to hearing him all weekend, and all I could say afterward was "Wow"! God is so amazing. His transforming power continues to be the most outstanding of all His handiwork. He can take a runner and turn him completely around. I know cause He did the same thing for me.
So, some of my reflection this past week had to do with my own journey. How far have I come? How strong is my present stand? Here are a few things that came to mind:
In Steve's nervousness and energy as he stood up to preach, I saw myself. I have never been a natural preacher. To be honest, I wouldn't do it if God hadn't called me to, but over the years things have changed. I used to have no choice but to depend entirely upon God. Now, after eleven years of preaching under my belt, I have the skills, the confidence to make me comfortable and even complacent if I'm not careful. I could preach on autopilot and no one would really be the wiser, at least for a while. It seems that people just don't ask preachers how they're doing spiritually. They just assume that since we're in the biz, we're connected. Not necessarily true, believe me. It's so easy to depend more on past experiences than on present realities when you've been in the ministry for a while. Lord, keep me connected to You. Make my words every week, Your Words.
In Steve's journey I am reminded of how far I have come. God has brought me great distances and I have the tracks to prove it. Some of my footprints are widely spaced as I have moved forward with bursts of faith and growth. Other parts of the track are the solid, deep, ruts where I've dragged my feet. But, even in that, distance was traveled. What does all this mean to me? It means that no matter what is happening today, good or bad, struggle or victory, I have a reason to be truly thankful. I'm not who I used to be and I'm not where I used to be. The worse place I can be today is so much better than the best place I ever was without our Lord. If you're feeling particularly ungrateful today, look at your journey and regain the perspective you need to rejoice always.
Finally, I was reminded that God's greatest works aren't the shiny miraculous bobbles that we often run after. No, they are the changed hearts, the changed paths, the changed lives, the transformations of sinner to saint. Look around you and see God's handiwork. It's there in that marriage that's been put back together, stronger than ever. It's there in that forgiving heart that used to seek revenge. It's there in the quiet man who gives sacrificially that the kingdom might expand. It's there all around you, the quiet, persistent miraculous. Praise God!
