On The Eve Of Steve's First Concert

Dear Prayer Team,

As I sit at my computer, the day before our first concert with Steve as our bass, and think about the things God has done and is doing in RESCUE, I have difficulty finding the right words to express the profound truths that God has been teaching us through this process.

When we found out at the end of last year that our dear brothers Joshua and Luke were moving along to other things, something inside of me wanted to panic. But I have to tell you, God quickly gave me a strong sense of His peace that it would all work out for His glory. After talking with Jason and Dustin, in their own personal way they had a similar thing happen. Our strength was first in the assurance that God had given us and secondly, it was in the bond that God had given the three of us that let us know that we weren't alone. We walked for the next few months in a solid sense of faith that God was going to show us the way. The fact that Steve has now joined us is only the final evidence of what God was assuring us of the entire time. It never felt like a matter of "if" but of "when". The fact that God brought us someone of Steve's caliber may be God's way of letting us know that when we hold fast to Him through faith, he will bless us even more than we could have hoped for.

It occurs to me that this is a biblical model of how God has worked throughout the ages. He loves it when his children, when confronted with a situation or circumstances that could spell disaster, display faith instead of fear; and He LOVES to save the day. It also occurs to me that I have run in fear more times than I have responded in faith. How many times are we confronted with this choice in our daily lives? How many times do we run to worldly solutions when all God wants for us is to believe Him to be who He says He is and watch Him work miraculously in difficult or even impossible circumstances.

"'I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.'" (Ps. 81:10-12)

Here's my sincere prayer for all of us: Lord, I pray that we would see the events of our lives through eyes of faith. If we have grown callused to Your way of doing things and if we've forgotten how great You are, please awaken us to a fresh understanding of the privilege it is to know and be known by such a wonderful and caring Father. You are powerful to save and faithful to forgive. Remind us to stir up our faith and to be ready to watch You work.

In Jesus name, Amen.