STREAMS.

You're in the hospital. But you're not sick. You wish you were, though. You wish it was you instead. Because the person you love most in the world is dying. And they are lying just beyond the walls of the room in front of you. And you can't go in until the surgery is complete.

And you can't bear it anymore.

You try to hold it in. But tears come hot and heavy. They roll down your cheek. You want to scream.

You glance around the waiting room, hoping no one is watching. But even if they are, they could never see what is going on inside of you. You can't stop yourself from entertaining future thoughts. Running future scenarios through your mind. Christmas. Thanksgiving. Anniversaries. Birthdays. They would never be the same. Each day would be a reminder of the one you loved. Waking up alone. No one to text "I love you!" to or send one of those silly smily faces to. Getting home from work knowing you'll never be greeted the same way again. No more holding hands. No more hugs. The tears fall.

Suddenly, you're jolted back to reality. You're still in the hospital. You're still in the same chair. But the other people in the waiting room have left. Now you're alone. You welcome the silence.

But it isn't completely silent. You hear something. A whisper or murmer of some sort. You get still and strain to hear. Yes, there it is again. You hear something, but can't make out what it is.

You look back towards the room in front of you. The room you hate. The room that may change your life forever. The fear begins to creep up your spine againl like a spider. You fight to hold back tears.

But there it is again.

The whisper. 

Yes, you're sure you heard it this time. Reluctantly, you decide to investigate. It seems to be coming from somewhere on your right.

It takes all the strength you have to get up from your seat. You feel stiff. It hurts to move. But there it is again.

The whisper.

Finally you're on your feet. You make your way down the hall to your right, past the rigid chairs that line the walls of the waiting room. You pass one door and peer in. Empty. You pass another and peer in. Empty. You begin to think maybe you were just hearing things. You pause and strain to hear. The clock on your left ticks loudly. One second. Two seconds. And then you hear it again.

The whisper.

You take a few more steps down the hall. There is a very dimly lit room on your right side. It looks almost like a utility closet. You peer through the small glass pane on the door.

There, in the small room, you see a figure on the ground. You look more closely, squinting. It seems to be a man. "What's he doing on the ground?" you wonder. But then something pierces your heart. You just heard your name.

Thoughts race through your mind as you try to make sense of the situation. You push your face closer to the small window and can now see that the man is kneeling. And whispering. Quietly. Steadily. Calmly. Continuously.

And you hear your name again.

You strain closer. You can now see the man in greater detail. His eyes are deep and beautiful, almost like flames of fire. His hair is beautiful and wavy, and is genlty reflecting the dim light - in the same way that moonlight reflects off of snow. His face is slender and beareded and weathered. And all along He continues to whisper.

Now that you're closer you realize He must be speaking another language. Because the only word you can make out is your name. But with each word you feel lighter. Each phrase seems to tear down something dark inside of you. For the first time in months, you feel peace and rest. You welcome it.

And you know. You don't know how you know. But you know that you know that you know. That it's going to be ok. That no matter what you find when you go back to the waiting room, it will be ok.

You look back at the Man. He hasn't moved. And He hasn't stopped whispering in that beautiful, gentle language. And you hear your name again.

And finally you have strength to face whatever is to come.

"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." Robert Murray McCheyne

"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." Romans 8:34

"...He always lives to intercede for [His Children]." Hebrews 7:25

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

STREAMS.

"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, 'I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.'When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'"

Exodus 3:1-4

If you're like me, you've probably heard this story more times than you can count. But I want to draw your attention to something the Lord recently highlighted to me that has really changed the way I interact with God.

Can you recall from this passage when God called to Moses?

It wasn't when Moses was shepherding the flock. It wasn't when God appeared in flames of fire. It wasn't as the bush was burning.

Look more closely at verse 4. God didn't call to Moses until Moses decided to go look at what God was doing. 

"When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look,
God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'" Exodus 3:4

God was waiting to see if Moses would turn away from what he was preoccupied with before He spoke.

I believe God does the same thing with us. 

He waits to see if we will turn our eyes towards Him. He waits to see if we will take our attention off of ourselves and fix it on Him. He waits to see if we will turn away from our current circumstances to pursue Him.

Do you want to know God's heart for you? Do you want to more fully understand what He is teaching you in this time? Do you desire to see your current situation as God sees it? Do you long to know why He has allowed this to happen?

Then turn away. 

He is waiting to speak to you. He is waiting to infuse your heart with hope, purpose, and vision. He has abundant resources available for you. He wants to comfort you and ease your pain.

But you must turn away and look for Him.

My challenge to you today is to view every circumstance, situation, blessing, and hardship as a burning bush opportunity. God is on the edge of His seat, bursting with things to say.

Will you turn away to listen?

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

STREAMS.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
   and lean not on your own understanding; 
 in all your ways submit to him, 
   and he will make your paths straight."

  Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust. 

It's one of the hardest actions we will ever be asked to do. 

Because trust makes us vulnerable. Vulnerable to hurt and disappointment. To embarassment. To looking foolish. To losing everything. 

We have all been let down by someone (or something) we've trusted. Dads. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Best friends. Spouses. Co-workers. Politicians. The stock market. The church. 

So, more often than not, we draw back from trusting. We decide we will not be hurt again. We resolve to put up walls of protection.

But, over time, something strange happens. Our hearts slowly calous. They slowly - but surely - become hardened. We forget how to trust. We forget how to be vulnerable. And we lose our ability to deeply trust another. And because trust is the foundation of love, we lose our ability to love.

C.S. Lewis profoundly stated this reality:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

God desires to love you completely and unconditionally. He also longs for your love and affection. But this requires you to trust Him.

If you want full and abudant life you must choose to trust God today. He will not disappoint you. He will not fail you. He will not let you down. Trusting God is the most powerful thing you will ever do.

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

STREAMS.

This week I was reading from the Gospel of Matthew and the words of Jesus resonated deeply within my soul. I pray that they would comfort you and release you to fully enter into the rest of Christ this week. 

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director

RUN!!!

 

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1

In this Psalm, David was in the middle of the wilderness running for his life from King Saul. The Bible reveals that he was hiding and running for several years. He was an isolated, politcal fugitive who could get nowhere near the santuary where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.

Even though David couldn't get to the Ark, he discovered that there was a secret sanctuary, refuge, and fortress in which he could dwell on a daily basis.

Bob Sorge writes about this secret place, saying, "Here [David] could vent his anxious thoughts; here he could be renewed in God's love as he gazed on His beauty; here he could be quieted by the assurances of His heavenly Father's protection; here he was healed from the wounds of man's rejection; here he regained strength for the journey; here he was safe."

I've got good news for you: There is a place of refuge from the storms of life.

But it's not church. And it's not your small group. And it's not your T.V. And it's not your favorite novel. And it's not the gym. And it's not and it's not and it's not...

The ONLY place of refuge for our lives is the secret place of prayer and intimacy with God. None of the things I just listed are bad things, but without a commitment to the secret place, those things will only be distractions that never truly satisfy.

Are the storms of life bearing down upon you? Run to the Lord! A refuge is something you must flee to, it is not something that magically appears around you. You must seek it out and take shelter in its safe harbor. 

God longs to be your refuge and fortress. Today, won't you choose to run into His arms?

Grace and Peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director