Good morning…
Do you get nervous when you wake up on the morning you are scheduled to be the speaker?
I do. I really do. I really do, and here is why. I do not know what I am supposed to say. I do not know what others need to hear. I do not know what joys and sorrows will fill our gathered hearts. I do not know. I am not designed to know. I cannot look into a crystal ball to see if anyone will show up, to know what deep wisdom people crave, and to understand if, how, why our shared experience will minister mysteriously.
It would be so much easier to be a spiffy speech writer, a methodical memorizer, a poised and polished speaker, but I feel more like a tongue-tied Moses, standing barefoot, ill-equipped to say a word. Even more unsettling for me right now is that during this eleventh hour prep time God is leading me to a Bible story rather than writing with me the talk I will be sharing in six short hours.
…God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people… and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them… to bring them up… out… into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey… And now the cry… has reached me… I have seen… So now, go. I am sending you… to bring my people… out…”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go…?”
And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out… you will worship God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go… and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM (and I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE). This is what you are to say… ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (Excerpts from Exodus 3:5-15, NIV).
Truth dawns. The Great I AM wants to be our speaker for today. God sees our hidden misery. God is concerned about our silent suffering. God rescues us from our secret bondage, bringing us up and out, into a good and spacious land. After God speaks to us in less than four hours, we will know that it was the Great I AM moving, hosting communion, and picnicking with us on a gorgeous mountaintop.
…Sue…
P.S. If you live in the Atlanta area, please come to hear God speak at 11:00 am today.
Wednesday, November 20 · 11:00–12:30PM · Chapel – Northside Church, 2799 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30305-2805
Speakers: Women’s Ministry Director Sue Allen (actually, the GREAT I AM!) and local artist Celeste Porter
Be inspired by the ministry stories of two women who have been profoundly shaped by broken shells found on the beach. Like these imperfect symbols, our lives at times feel torn, twisted, tattered. Preparing again for the birth of Immanuel, “God with us,” we notice the beauty born from brokenness as we choose to weather life with God. Come to receive your 2019 Advent devotional and enjoy a complimentary lunch.
