Clay in the Hands

Yesterday I told you about the challenge I issued to our church family on Sunday.  If you missed it, you can to a look at it here.

What I didn’t tell you is that I accepted the challenge as well.  There is no way I can ask our folks to do something that I am not willing to do myself.  So Sunday, I announced that on Tuesday, I would fast from food all day and rather than stuff my face, I would focus my attention on what God wants for me and my relationship with my savior.

I also asked the folks who accepted the challenge to fast this week to report back to me what God does through the experience.

So today, I am sharing what God showed me yesterday through my efforts to fast from food.

Let me just say from the beginning that what I am processing from my experiences is not what I was expecting.  I mean, I expected to have some moment of clarity where I felt more like a child of God than I have felt in a while.  Or some grand revelation or new direction.

But the coolest things happened that opened my eyes to how God works.

The first thing I was reminded of is that God has a very real sense of humor.  I knew this.  It wasn’t a new revelation.  Just take a few minutes on any given day to observe the world and you will see it too.  But I am here to tell you, God is a real jokester.

I was sitting in my office and it was getting to be about lunch time.  I thought about what I should do during the time I would normally be grabbing some fast food.  I thought about spending the time in silence and looking into God’s word for a while.  I thought about praying through some things going on in my life.  Several things were floating around in my head when I received the text.

One of our 1st B family members sent me a text asking if I wanted to catch up over lunch at one of my favorite places to eat here in town.  I text back and explained I was fasting but that I would sit with him and drink a Diet Coke.  After the pleasantries back and forth about not wanting to torture me, we agreed to meet at noon.  I sat and drank and watched him eat a very attractive plate of chicken strips.  But things were good.  I really enjoyed our time together and felt God used that time and my focus to really connect with him.

As I drove back to the church, I was thinking about the experience and feeling pretty good about myself and my ability to go without food.  I’ll admit, there may have been a little pride in my chest.

When I got back to the office, my wife called to tell me that her parents would be coming through and spending the night with us and that they wanted to meet us in Lubbock for dinner.  She then remembered my commitment and offered to change the plan but I was feeling pretty good about my will power and so I told her that would be fine.

Last night we met for dinner at one of my most favorite places in Lubbock to eat.  I won’t tell you the name of the establishment but it is Spanish for grandfather.

Now I need to step back and tell you that Mexican food is my weakness.  And chips and salsa are my drug of choice.

I sat through that meal praying that someone would call me so I could be excused to go talk on the phone (thanks Tiny for not calling).  So there I sat, watching everyone around the table enjoy the meal I love the most.

God has a sense of humor!

But in all seriousness, God used both of those experiences to show me something extremely important.  So important that it will change my approach from now on.

What God showed me in a very concrete and “in my face” way is the beauty and absolute joy of community – of fellowship.  Since I wasn’t eating, I could focus completely and intently on the people around the table.  I could see the joy of being together.  I could really hear the passion in their voices as we talked about the church.  I could see God in the magnificence of it all.

It was moving and enlightening.  I am so humbled and thankful that God has a sense of humor and that God put me in those situations.

I am also reminded that God truly does reward what is done in secret.

What about you?  What is God teaching you through this challenge?