I am writing this on the day of my 31st birthday. For those of you who know me, you are thinking right now, “Say what? She’s not 31!” No, I’m not 31, I’m speaking of my spiritual birthday. 31 years ago I stepped into a little white church on Alta Street and met Jesus. Let’s back up a little and let me tell you how I came to being invited to that little white church.
A divine appointment.
It was a Sunday and I was at our neighborhood park with my three youngest children. I was approached by a woman who thought I looked familiar to her. She asked if she knew me from church. I explained to her that I didn’t go to church and proceeded to tell her that my sister and I had recently discussed taking our kids to Sunday School. She told me all about her church, the relaxed atmosphere, the great Pastor, you could wear whatever you wanted, and everyone was super nice. It sounded great but of course it did because it was my divine appointment.
We accepted the invitation
After discussing it with my sister, we decided to go that next Sunday. We walked in those doors that Sunday morning and life changed forever. Everything was just as Ann had said, great pastor who taught from the Word of God and a very welcoming atmosphere. We were surprised by the worship music, though. The only church experience we had had in the past was a couple years at a Baptist Church with organ music and hymnals. We were greeted that Sunday by guitars and drums! We looked at each other with wide eyes wondering what we had gotten ourselves into! We quickly fell in love with the music and more importantly, fell in love with Jesus.
The Journey
Weeks became months, months became years.
I cannot say that life became easy, it didn’t. I have been blessed beyond all I could imagine, but there have also been lots of hardships, disappointments, and big trials. Through it all though, I knew the Lord was with me. In Deuteronomy 31:6 I found an awesome promise, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.” The latter half of Joshua 1:9 says, “do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
My walk with the Lord has not always been as strong as I would have liked. There have been highs and lows, but He never let go of me. Jesus says in John 10:28 that no one can snatch me from His hand. That is a comforting promise.
He will put your life in order
Sometimes people have the idea that they can’t come to God until they’ve got their life in order. That’s just wrong, in fact that idea is backwards. Come to God and He will put your life in order. As Christian writer Max Lucado says, “God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way.” Another comforting thought is found in Philippians 1:6, “that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
So don’t wait, you don’t have to have your life in order to come to the Lord. It’s a journey, a wonderful, faith filled journey that will take us to our ultimate destination, eternal life in heaven.
Don’t wait, He knows you, He created you, He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, what you haven’t done, He already knows all that and loves you more than you know, despite it all.
Whatever you give up for the sake of your relationship with Jesus, you will gain so much more in return. A constant companion, the lover of your soul, creator of the universe, the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb, the one who died in your place so you could spend eternity in heaven.
I encourage you to read Psalms 139, it beautifully explains the love of the Father for his children.
Consider this your invitation, your divine appointment. Don’t wait.
