Choosing Joy: #Asburyrevival

 He prayed then preached a normal sermon in a college chapel service on a Wednesday. It was given in a quiet humble spirit. It wasn’t what you would think of as deserving of an amazing response but it was from the heart. He spoke of love. He spoke of all the kinds of love. He spoke of horrendous acts of evil that masquerade as love. Then he spoke about agape love. He explained that agape love was perfect sacrificial forgiving love for friends and enemies. He spoke of his own works-based futile struggle to love like this. In conclusion, he stated that all agape love has One Source and we can only receive it by truly believing that we are loved by God. The agape love of Christ will naturally overflow from us to the world. He prayed again and the camera shut off.

What happened next has been told by many sources. I picture it like dominoes falling. Students began quietly, humbly pouring their hearts out to God. And it continued until at present count, ten days later, people are still lined around the building waiting to come in and experience this amazing outpouring of grace. Stories of acts happening in the event sound like those that the apostle Paul spoke of in the book of Acts.

A friend posted this verse in response to this outpouring of the Spirit.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

My gut response over this news is two-fold. I am naturally a jaded fearful human who knows how the evil one and his army can spin things. And I have no doubt that he will do so. But I am also a child of God. And I know His power over evil. So this response is joy.

I choose joy.

#Asburyrevival

So, What is Plan B?

 God’s will for my life used to be a big mysterious deal for me. As a child, I thought if I wanted to follow God, I had to go to the scariest place I could imagine and live there. No, not Africa, Lord!

Then I discovered the open/closed door method of following God’s will. I don’t recall seeing this method in the Bible but I can remember many people telling of their life direction being dictated by closed and open doors. There is even a saying, “when God closes one door, he will open another.” Much to my relief, Africa wasn’t behind any doors. But if two or more doors were open, my plan was a bust.

I am not one to tell the Almighty what to do but I’m beginning to doubt that this door thing is always his go-to MO. In the Bible, Jesus always surprised people by his methods. For example, he healed with his voice, mud, water, his clothing, laying on hands, through his disciples, etc. If he healed so many different ways, why would he direct our lives only by open and closed doors?

As I have grown older, I have come to believe that we make God’s will mysterious when God spells it out plainly. Or maybe we don’t want to follow the direction given by the Holy Spirit in our hearts so we sit waiting for plan B.

So if his will is so plainly spelled out, what is it? Following his written instructions. Yes, praise the Lord, he gave us a user manual. In it his first and most persistent repeated instruction is the following.

To love Him above all else.

Of this I am sure. How do I go about loving God? By following the rest of his instructions like

loving others(even our enemies and annoying people),

taking time to pray,

taking time to seek him in his Word,

regretting, confessing and walking away from sin,

and

forgiving,

forgiving,

forgiving.

God’s will is following him in what I am doing right now, doing the next right thing. Doors may open and shut but trusting Him in every step no matter which choice we make, is his will. It is crystal clear! It may not be easy, but it is not mysterious. It is exactly what he tells us to do over and over again.