You just never know when God has a bigger plan than you do. I had a firsthand experience with that this Friday night. I came home from work tired and not feeling the greatest, but by 6:30 I really wanted to invite a couple of close friends over to have a time of worship. I'd thought about it earlier that day, too, and felt the Holy Spirit was nudging me to do it, but I figured I would have a lot of work to do and it was probably not the best time. Now, this late in the evening, I decided I really did want to have a worship night but I was sure that everyone would have better plans by now. I decided to take a tiny step of faith and made the first phone call. My friend Kelli was excited about coming (especially because it meant she could bang on her djembe), and she had two friends visiting from California who wanted to come, too. Her roommate and her friend wanted to come, too. And then her other roommate and her two friends wanted to come. And then another friend called me and had heard about the worship night, and she said she wanted to come, too. I decided to invite a few more people who probably hadn't heard about it, and about 30 minutes later over 10 people were gathered in our apartment. We made a good loud noise (say our neighbors below, who are our friends but decided not to come), but more than that it was just a really refreshing way to spend Friday night. There were at least five nations represented (Canada, Uruguay, America, Japan, Singapore- you can see us all in the picture) and we had a great time singing and laughing lots during some very comic moments between songs. I was so blessed by that night, which started so small in my mind, but then turned out bigger when I imagined. It was a perfect example of when things are God's plan and His timing, not ours, and they just take off and seem to go beyond us, without pushing and striving and forcing things to happen. I am blessed by His goodness, and His perfect timing.
It connected well with the message at church last week, which I wrote about and then forgot to post. Here it is now:
“If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it become salty again?” Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount echo with truth still relevant for today. If Christians are “the salt of the earth,” what does that mean? Today at church, a new way of being “salty” was suggested, one that I hadn't thought of before. In a society that is constantly working, running, working, we can be salt by being people who rest.
It seems so simple: just rest. Yet, I believe it truly is an amazing way of “standing out.” Anybody can work. Only a few have learned the discipline of resting well, taking time for “re-creation”, allowing God to renew our spirit, mind, and body. I had more opportunity to rest this week than I have had in a long time, but I quickly slipped into anxious thoughts about the days and weeks to come, instead of remembering that “each day has enough trouble of its own.” I know I am not the only one forfeits restful seasons for worry.
It's true, we cannot always be resting. God does command us to work for six days a week, but what a privilege to set aside the seventh for a time of renewal, reflection, and rejuvenation. I'm not trying to get caught in a web of legalism and rules about how or how not to rest on the seventh day, because Jesus quickly silenced the Pharisees who had made resting a complicated science possible only for a dedicated minority. I am trying to make time to stop. I wanted to do this before, but I want to do it more now that I realize the value it can have as a form of “saltiness.”
