Yesterday was another typical ministry day in the life of a pastor. It was a WOW!!!!
After spending half of the afternoon meeting Mike and taking a tour of a relatively new ministry nestled in the mountains bordering the Cherokee National Forest, Back 2 Basics Adventures, it was time to make my way back home. There were two visits with church members that I desired to make.
Pulling off to the side of the country road, I said, “Lord, where should I go?” Once again, as always, what He initiates He also guides.
As I arrived at Jim and Freda’s home, I recognized another car parked in the driveway. As I approached the back door, I could hear chatter coming from the other side of the wall.
I knocked at the door, looked through the window pane to find four precious souls enjoying their supper. Jim, in his eighties, is recovering from a recent heart procedure. Freda, Jim’s wife, will tell you with a smile, “I just can’t get around like I used to.” Larry, in his seventies, is dealing with cancer, and his wife, Margie, is practically blind.
As I walked through the door, I was greeted with smiles, and a “Come on in Preacher! Gitchyaplate, sit down and eat with usI” Knowing that my wife would have supper prepared when I arrived home, I have to tell you, I really hated to decline that offer! Nevertheless, I pulled up a chair and entered into a time of laughter, sharing life, getting caught up on the latest, acknowledging the goodness of God, answered prayer and rejoicing in the Lord! A few times we laughed so hard, tears were streaming down our cheeks! We talked of hardships, trials, last Sunday’s 67th Church Anniversary service, bluegrass music, heartaches, ailments, food, etc.
The WOW was being in the midst of my brothers and sisters in Christ who have built their lives upon the living Christ and are testimonies of Psalm 92:12-15.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
As we age as believers in Christ, no matter our circumstances, we too can have the WOW of the joy of the Lord as our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) because He Who is joy resides in us (John 14:20; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27) and says to us, These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). WOW!!!
*Wednesday WOW is written to remind us, especially pastors, that our transcendent, omnipotent, loving, sovereign God is working today in our lives in thousands of ways. The WOW is God, not the size of the work! How have you seen Him at work in your life today?
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