I think I must have been temporarily living in a different state yesterday. At least, it seemed that way to me for a while. I'm referring, of course, to the state of confusion. Virtually nothing happened the way it normally does on Sundays for us. It was almost like God took the neatly organized box containing all the pieces of our entire Sunday routine, dumped it out on the floor, mixed up the pieces, and started over from scratch. The result was a roller coaster that could not have turned out better had we tried to plan it ourselves.
Routine: I get up before everyone else, spend an hour reading and praying, then cook a big breakfast while the rest of the house is waking up.
Instead: I got up an hour later (because of the time change that morning), popped leftovers from Saturday's "men's breakfast" in the oven, greeted everyone as they woke up, and read and prayed for a half hour.
Routine: I sit next to my wife in our small Sunday school class.
Instead: I was crammed next to two rather animated people in a combined Sunday school class.
Routine: I go rehearse with the choir, and we sing our number during the morning service.
Instead: No rehearsal took place. We still sat up on the dais and sang during the congregational hymns, but we did not perform.
Routine: One of our pastors or deacons leads our time of prayer.
Instead: A different individual was selected to pray...rather eloquently, i might add.
Routine: Pastor continues his series on the book of Mark.
Instead: Led by the Spirit, Pastor shared a different message from Zephaniah.
Routine: During the invitation, if I have a matter to take care of between the Lord and me, I pray right where I am.
Instead: I only made it a couple of measures into singing the invitational hymn before breaking down. I went forward and cried on bended knee.
Routine: After the morning service, we go home and occasionally talk about the gospel message with our second son, until he gets tired of it and wants to do something else.
Instead: He and his mother stayed in the auditorium after the morning service to talk. He prayed and trusted Jesus as his savior!
The day continued its unusualness all the way through to bedtime, but that was the highlight. God never makes a mistake. He is able to take any and all circumstances and use them to bring about what He wishes. He is even able to take the pieces of a shattered day, or a shattered life, and reassemble them into something greater than any of us could have imagined.
Praise His name! Our Savior lives, and He still saves!
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away
He taught me how to watch and pray
And live rejoicing every day
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!
Routine: I get up before everyone else, spend an hour reading and praying, then cook a big breakfast while the rest of the house is waking up.
Instead: I got up an hour later (because of the time change that morning), popped leftovers from Saturday's "men's breakfast" in the oven, greeted everyone as they woke up, and read and prayed for a half hour.
Routine: I sit next to my wife in our small Sunday school class.
Instead: I was crammed next to two rather animated people in a combined Sunday school class.
Routine: I go rehearse with the choir, and we sing our number during the morning service.
Instead: No rehearsal took place. We still sat up on the dais and sang during the congregational hymns, but we did not perform.
Routine: One of our pastors or deacons leads our time of prayer.
Instead: A different individual was selected to pray...rather eloquently, i might add.
Routine: Pastor continues his series on the book of Mark.
Instead: Led by the Spirit, Pastor shared a different message from Zephaniah.
Routine: During the invitation, if I have a matter to take care of between the Lord and me, I pray right where I am.
Instead: I only made it a couple of measures into singing the invitational hymn before breaking down. I went forward and cried on bended knee.
Routine: After the morning service, we go home and occasionally talk about the gospel message with our second son, until he gets tired of it and wants to do something else.
Instead: He and his mother stayed in the auditorium after the morning service to talk. He prayed and trusted Jesus as his savior!
The day continued its unusualness all the way through to bedtime, but that was the highlight. God never makes a mistake. He is able to take any and all circumstances and use them to bring about what He wishes. He is even able to take the pieces of a shattered day, or a shattered life, and reassemble them into something greater than any of us could have imagined.
Praise His name! Our Savior lives, and He still saves!
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away
He taught me how to watch and pray
And live rejoicing every day
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!
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