He is Not Distant, He is God
Wow, the last three months working at Harvest have been such an adventure! First, let me begin by sharing how I got here and the Lord’s hand in it all:
It was November of 2014, and I had been serving for four years as a worship minister in Breckenridge, Colorado. After years of life, ministry, and ups and downs, I felt the Lord asking me to step down from my position on staff. At first I fought the Lord, because I did not have a backup plan; no job lined up, no place or opportunity to move for. Finally one day I felt the Lord was saying clear as day: “You know you need to step down. Trust me with this first step, and I will reveal to you what will happen next.” So, I decided to resign, giving no other reason than I felt the Lord was asking me to step down and move on.
The very next day I received a phone call from a worship pastor, who knew a friend of mine but I had never met before, from The Village Church in Dallas, Texas. We chatted about life, ministry, goals for the future, and he invited my wife, Naomi, and I to move to Dallas, get plugged in with The Village Church, and be mentored by him to be raised up as a worship pastor. By the end of the conversation, I found myself in tears, because for the last four years I had been praying for a way to grow and develop from just a worship leader into a worship pastor.
We moved to Dallas, which lead to two and a half years of serving along side and being mentored by this pastor, as well as a year long intentional worship internship through The Village Church. Towards the end of my time in Dallas I began having conversations about going on staff with The Village Church, which is where my heart was. Until, again, The Lord began to redirect my desire to go somewhere else. I was not sure where, but I knew I was not suppose to be in Dallas.
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Fast forward to after several conversations with Pastor Scott and being hired on staff at Harvest, I began to connect the timeline dots: Almost three years ago, when I stepped down from my church in Colorado, Scott began praying for a worship pastor. At the beginning of this year when I felt my desire being redirected somewhere other than Dallas, Scott felt the need to start praying extra hard for a specific person to be the worship pastor at Harvest. Like, what?!?! This is crazy awesome. If this isn’t The Lord’s orchestration, then I don’t know what is.
The Lord was answering Scott’s prayers by pulling me out of my position in Colorado to send me to Dallas to receive specific training to be raised up as a worship pastor. Then again, The Lord answered Scott’s prayers by shifting my desire for Dallas towards somewhere else. The Lord was at work.
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Almost three months into my transition to California, when I’m still using apple maps to find the nearest grocery store or when I miss our people back in Dallas or when we’re still setting up and tearing down for service or when I can’t find the Dallas Cowboys playing on any local stations, I look back, lean on The Lord’s faithfulness, and know this is right where I am suppose to be.
Our transition here really has been great! The people have been amazing; so welcoming and so kind. The staff I get to work with is top notch and such a joy to serve along side. My volunteers on the worship team are legit! In addition to their excellent musicianship, their love for Jesus and desire to serve the church is apparent - they get it! I am so excited to grow this worship ministry along side them, and I look forward to see what The Lord will do in the future. I also look forward to knowing our congregation more and serving this church.
With all of this being said… The Lord is good! He is always at work. He is not a distant, sleepy, lazy, withdrawn God. He is a God intricately at work in the unseen. In the midst of our grumbling, He is at work. In the midst of our questioning, He is at work. In the midst of our grief, He is at work. In the midst of our waiting, He is at work. The sooner we realize we are not entitled to The Lord working all things together to the good of those who love Him, the deeper joy we will experience in our glad submission to His will and timing, which is perfect.
My prayer is that this kindness The Lord shows us would lead you to repentance today. He loves you and cares for you deeply. He is not distant, He is God. And, you are loved.
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