I am reading through the book "Radical" by David Platt and he comments: "in direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability"(kindle location 613). I don't want to live a life that is dependent only on my own gifts and abilities but instead I want to live a life that is dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit so that God gets the glory. For me this has been the case this past week.
One of the highlights for me was preaching at a youth (young adult) service. Friday night we were informed that one of us would be preaching and we were asked to pray about who should do it. I felt nothing and, in wanting to give the others an opportunity, I held back from offering. It didn't help that I was experiencing difficulty in spending meaningful time with God. A couple people came to me and said I should preach but I didn't think anything of it until one of our leaders came to me and said that they too had the impression that I was to preach. Typically when I know I have to preach I like to spend time in prayer and research the passage I will be preaching on at least a week in advance so that I can just spend time meditating on it. Then I write the sermon and go over it so that I know it and can preach from my heart. Needless to say, I did not have the time nor the resources to do this. I went for a prayer walk and asked God to give me something to say. He gave me a passage in Romans 8 and so I spent my afternoon reading Romans and trying to put together some scrap of a sermon. I just asked God to speak through me and I asked specifically for a word of knowledge for someone. It was the largest group of people I have preached to so far and it was a more modern church with the bright lights and stuff which I am not used to. When I saw the platform and the people I felt nervous and intimidated especially seeing as I felt really unprepared. When it came time to preach I just spoke what was on my heart and that was it. I sat down and wished I was sensitive to the Holy Spirit like Jenn Wilton or Robert Martin where they speak effectively and seem to always have an awesome ministry time afterwards--but that wasn't the case. I just sat down when I was done speaking because I didn't feel like I was to do anything specific to conclude. I felt discouraged as usual. The coolest thing happened afterwards. One guy came up to me and told me how the prophetic word that I thought God had given me for their church was exactly what he had asked God for. Another woman around my age came to me and told how one of the stories I shared was a mirror image of her present situation and how it encouraged her. It is incredibly humbling to see God take my insecurities and fumbling attempt to do what He asks and transform it for His glory.
The same thing happened later on in the week. We were in a city center area and one person had the impression that we should do a skit so we set it up right in front of a bar patio for them to see. I got elected to quickly share after the skit with only a couple minutes to prepare. I had never preached on the street before and was nervous and I had no clue what to say so I just gave a brief summary about how only Jesus can fill the longings in our heart. Afterwards, one man got up from the patio and came to us saying that what we did spoke to him. It was really cool.
Another stretching event for me this week was our faith walk where we walked around the city and asked God to lead us to people He wants us to speak to. We also visited a refugee camp, and did a children's program at a church and on the street. I have been reminded of our need to be reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit, because it is only through Him that anything we do has any value.
All in all, our time in Sicily was fantastic! Thank you for your prayers.
All in all, our time in Sicily was fantastic! Thank you for your prayers.
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