All Consuming God

It's Sunday morning when I walk up to a store front church next to Diary Queen. As I step through the door with guitar in hand, gentle praise music from a CD player fills the white cinder block room. A wooden stage runs the length of one side of the room with a full band complement of drums and guitars. I move to set my instrument down in the corner and notice a young woman in front of the left side of the stage, hands folded and head reverently bowed. She seems to be intensely focused on something. My eyes shift to a man in front of the center portion of the stage with hands and eyes raised to the ceiling, stepping side to side, singing along with the song in the background and then shouting Worthy! You are worthy! Yes Lord! Finally another woman near the right side of the stage, knees and face to the ground. I find myself barely able to move or breathe as if afraid to disturb something so fragile yet so beautiful. The Spirit of God is in this place. I have not walked in on the middle of church, but band practice an hour and a half before church.

As I stand to the side of the room, not really knowing what to do, thoughts begin flooding my head. These people are here to worship. How easy it can become to make casual our daily and weekly routines work-school-church-friends-eat-sleep. How easy it is to make God into a child's favorite toy. Fun and amusing at times but then set aside when not convenient. But not here, not now. I know these people. It's the youth pastor and worship pastors. They live and breathe worship 24|7 - not just for convenience's sake. God comes first in their lives whether it means going somewhere they don't want to go, giving up something they desire for themselves, or showing up to church an hour and a half early to seek God for themselves so that they can lead others in genuine worship.

Within a few minutes, the song ends and the band members take their place for sound check. Today's worship service is going to be an awesome encounter with God.

What is our response to God? Does God fit our schedule or does our schedule fit God? God is not a stack of beliefs we pick up whenever we have time but a living and dynamic being who desires intimacy with each of us. God desires to commune with us in a special way. He is only waiting.