Abba, Father

It amazes me how the Lord ordains specific moments.

On campus right now we have a group of 70 7th and 8th graders. It is loud and crazy most of the time, but tonight I shared the sweetest moment with one girl during worship time.

I had left worship a bit early tonight because it was getting late and I have to teach tomorrow. As I was walking back to my apartment I noticed one girl sitting alone, far from the rest of the group with her head in her hands. I silently walked past, not wanting to disturb her. However, once I passed her I felt the strong sense that I was supposed to pray for her. In the same moment my mind jumped to fears- What if she thinks that is weird? What if it is awkward? But I have been praying that God will make me more aware of the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my life, so I thought I had better not let my fears get in the way of something God is doing in my life or in the life of this young girl. So I turned around.

I asked her if I could pray for her and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "Yes please."

So I prayed.

It wasn't hard, it wasn't awkward. And as I prayed I felt a small touch of the abounding love that God has for this precious daughter of his. Oh, how he loves her! How he loves us all!

When I finished she shared with me, through her tears, that her dad had passed away when she was a baby and tonight she realized for the first time that God was her Father and that he loves her. Praise the Lord!!! With tears in my own eyes, and my heart bubbling up with love, I then had the honor of sharing with her the things that it has taken my lifetime to learn...

You are God's holy, beloved daughter.

He chose you.

He will protect you.

He will provide for you.

He will NEVER hold out on you.

Even when things don't make sense he is making a way for you.

He cares about every fear and every pain and he longs to heal the broken places of your heart.

He loves you with an unending love and has more in store for your life than you could ever imagine.

Those things are true for that sweet girl sitting on the ledge, they are true for me and they are true for you. What a mighty, loving Heavenly Father we have!

I am honored that God chose to use me tonight to speak with this girl. But even more than that, I am humbled because even while I was speaking those words to this young girl, I felt the Lord saying, "You speak these words with confidence and yet you are worried and anxious about your future. You speak of my love, faithfulness and provision and yet you are not fully trusting me to provide for you and guide your way. Beloved, trust in me and lean not on your own understanding, I am making a way for you."

Wow!

It amazes me how the Lord ordains specific moments.

I'm glad that I turned around.