It was last Sunday when my brother’s fiance Amy leaned over and asked me, “Do you think this is God?”
Our church was doing baptisms.
Pastor preached out of the book of Amos and Amy’s family has called her Amos her whole life. So she wondered when she leaned over and asked me, if maybe it was the Lord giving her a hint.
She had not planned on being baptized, had no extra clothes with her, but, still her spirit was being stirred.
So, when Pastor said, “if you feel compelled to be baptized…” I don’t think he even finished his sentence, when she bolted up and marched straight to the baptismal, leaving our jaws hanging open. We were in awe of her humility and obedience to Christ. As she grabbed onto pastor’s hand and humbly stepped down into the water, it was like watching her spirit step straight into the Lord’s presence.
As she was submerged into water and new life, tears ran freely down all our faces.
As Amy sprang up out of that water with her hands lifted high, we knew, it was her childlike faith and God’s voice that compelled her to that stage.
If she had not recognized and listened to His voice, she could have missed it.
As I sat there in wonderment, I realized once again, His presence is what we desire most and His voice what we long to hear.
We think we just need Him to fix all our problems, to give us happiness every day, but really what we want and Whom we want to know, is Emmanuel, God is with us. That He still speaks. He still guides. And He has not forgotten us.
As this world gets crazier and more violent and the earth is shaken, we need to know God intimately and that He is not shaken. Knowing Him and learning to trust Him is what quiets our fears and brings us peace.
Advent began a few days ago. Which is Latin for coming, the coming of Christ.
So, maybe what we need to begin with is a prayer.
A prayer asking God to help us to be still. To know that stillness is the stepladder which leads us to the greatest gift: His presence.
To take the time to be intentional about slowing down and listening, so we will recognize His voice.
One of my all time favorite stories in the bible is after Jesus had resurrected and He appears to the disciples on the beach. They are out fishing, when a man appears and tells them to let down their nets. They don’t recognize Christ at first, because they are “busy” working.
He tells them where to throw their nets and they end up catching so much fish it’s too heavy to haul the net.
This is the part that makes me want to jump out of my seat:
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water.
Just stop and let your mind picture that for a moment.
I love how John had such an intimate relationship with Christ he knew it was him. And the part that brings me to tears is once Peter knew it was Jesus, he wasted no time diving in to get to Him.
When Amy asked me, “Do you think this is God?”
I didn’t have to answer her, because once the Lord told her, she wasted no time in getting to Him. And as her spirit dove in after Him, she found exactly what she needed and what He purposed for her to find:
Himself.
Waiting for her.
And this Christmas season, He is waiting for you and I as well.
