Saturday, August 21, 2004

I've been thinking about our pastor's message all week - the first one that I've heard in its entirety for a long time. It was a message that gave me hope. The text was an unusual one from Isaiah 54
"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,: says the Lord."
One comment that Pastor John made was that every one of us is barren spiritually but it is those who recognize it that God can use. I've taken a leap of faith and will be starting to lead a worship team again in fall. I'm excited about it but I know what Pastor John is talking about. Musically, I have no problems with getting involved again. But spiritually, I feel like I'm not ready. How reassuring to hear this message and realize that if I come before God as an empty vessel, he can use me best! I just hate the thought that I could be leading worship when in fact all I'm doing is leading singing. I know that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that makes all the difference. One of my favorite passages is Isaiah 41:18-20:
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs...I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that the people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
I get excited when I think that God can make a paradise out of a desert in my life and that my life could point others to Christ! Wow!

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