God chose the lowly things of this world, and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1Corinthians 1:28-29
Bang, the gun went off, and I took off, racing down the path at the Blind Olympics Camp Ben and I were attending. I was gonna do it myself, and wow, I was gonna win that race, because oh, the other racers just weren’t going to run. I was far too independent; I’d just out distance them. Until another bang happened. Suddenly I was down on the ground, that is, with someone else, and instead of seeing whether they were okay, I got up, and practically ran over them and finished the race. Of course, I was so happy I won. Until my father came over, and then I got another bang, the bang of reality. Dad said to me, Brandon, you ran over a little boy, and you didn’t even apologize to him. So I went back and of course did so, but I felt so ashamed, so low.
Friends, the rest of that weekend, I felt so humbled by just being with the athletes at the camp. Where I had come thinking I would triumph over other blind athletes, I came to realize it was not about winning or losing but recognizing God’s love was on full display through a community of friends and people laughing and sharing together. Of course, being in High School then, I thought I was stooping down to a level beneath me to be at such a camp. But now I’m so grateful to God I had such an opportunity.
All of us have moments when we try to go our own way, when we’re convinced, we’re better than others, and God has a way of knocking us down, making sure we remember he will use even the most surprising people to stun us into silence. Perhaps this stunning turns us to service, to surrender or to serenity. Either way, perhaps through the humbling however it happens, God becomes a sharper focus on our thoughts and minds and lives throughout a given week, year, event, or other time period.
So where is God needing to stun you into silence this week. Where do you believe you’ve got it all figured out? If you believe you don’t have any area, sorry, God’s ready to stun you somewhere. Are you ready? He’s lifting up someone to help you, maybe it’ll be someone you’ve noticed, and maybe it’ll be someone totally foreign to you. Perhaps it’ll even be someone you could not have even imagined he would send your way.
So this week, be ready. God is ready to stun you, to bless you, to humble you, and most of all, to surround you and I with reminders we don’t have it all figured out, but he’s got it, even those surprises about to come our way under control. So run the race, but be careful, the bang’s coming where God will make you sit up and take notice. Ready or not, here it comes!
To God be the glory
Pastor Brandon
Adult Sunday school 9 am
Morning Worship at 10:15 am
Enjoy the feeling of home and family.
Please join us, all are Welcome.