This post is long overdue, but I was inspired to write it
after hearing this song:
I realize that this isn’t a revolutionary concept, but my
friends also impact me for the Kingdom regularly. One such instance occurred at Beach Reach two
years ago (… which makes me feel old).
During the first night that our team was stationed in the Prayer Room,
my Father spoke directly to my heart through several people. Now, the “Prayer Room” may sound rather
mundane and insignificant, but it was far from it. It was the epicenter of what we were doing. It was here that many warriors stood their
ground and fought for their brothers and sisters on the spiritual
battlefield. It was here that many
people visibly saw God moving in the lives of spring breakers. It was here that I caught a glimpse of who
God intended me to be.
You see, I was minding my own business, praying away, and
the leader of the Prayer Room approached me.
She proceeded to explain to me that a young lady had just ran out the back of
the room, and that she was going to follow her to see what was up. She then proceeded to tell me that she was
placing me in charge of what was going on.
Immediately, fear and the “not-good-enoughs” engulfed me. Why the heck would she pick me? There were countless other leaders from other
schools and churches there with years of experience, job titles, Bible degrees,
the works. They are significantly more qualified than me I thought. But no, she picked the youngest,
most inexperienced, mechanical engineering-studying senior in college to take
over for her, the boldest prayer soldier
I’d ever seen in action. She wouldn’t
let me decline. In truth, God wanted to
show me something.
So, I got up there and lead the thing. I wasn’t perfect, wasn’t eloquent, wasn’t a
lot of things, but I was used. My Father
wanted to show me what He could do with me.
And He did.
About twenty minutes later, she came back in, and I
approached her. She looked at me, and
said the most piercing thing I’ve ever heard about me to me. It’s like she could peer directly into my
soul and see all of my doubts and fears.
She explained to me exactly who I was (without me ever telling her
anything), and she prayed a prayer over me that shattered my reality (in the
best of ways). I believe God put me up
there so that she could get a glimpse into my being for the purpose of expelling
fear from me.
But that’s not where it ends, and that’s also not the main
point of this entry. Immediately after
that, two young men from our group came up to me—Jacob Mackin and Tony
Stennett. They looked at me, and they
called me David, their great leader whom they’d follow in any trial or
storm. They called me a man after God’s own heart (if you’re
not familiar with David in the Bible, that was what he was called). I don’t think they realized what that simple
exhortation meant to me. It has been a
driving challenge and encouragement ever since.
One of my favorite songs in high school was “Voice of Truth” by Casting
Crowns. The second verse goes like this:
Oh, what I would do to have
The kind of
strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs
at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before
and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again "boy, you'll never win!
"You'll never win"
Those words talking about David and Goliath have also been a
driving force in my life—I want to be the man who will stand in the face of
fear when no others have the courage, to be the soldier who will bravely take
on any fight to the glory of God the Father.
When Tony and Jacob called me David, it was more than an unassuming name;
no, it was a radiant beam of light revealing to me that I am and I can be the fearless
man that God intends me to be.
“I Want to Know You Like That” by Anthem Lights is a
reminder to me of the man that I was born to be, the man that I was during that
week at Beach Reach, the man who will effect change in this world because of
the One Who is making me and using me and loving me. I was born to be a man after God’s own
heart.
Father, You are the
God Who uses His people to bring glory to Your Great Name. We are privileged to be a part of Your
story. Lord, You regularly place people
in my life who encourage and inspire me to break lose the chains and be more
than myself—people like our Prayer Room leader, like Jacob, and like Tony. Your word says that when You begin a new
work, You carry it on to completion. I
want to be a man after Your heart in all things. Lord, keep creating the man that You began.
