How many of us have experienced questions, perhaps worded differently, in our walk with the Lord? Questions like: Lord, what are you doing? Where are you, Lord? Why Lord? can arise in our hearts when faced with challenges. These can make us feel out of control. Well, we are. God is sovereign and calls us to trust Him, even when it doesn’t make sense. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said, “We need to trust God’s heart when we can’t trace His hand.”
Such was the case for me in preparing for and participating in the most recent Onesimus Fundraiser. It was our first ever benefit concert that required coordination of times, dates, and practical items such as food and beverages for the attendees and of course the best part, the music. The idea began last Fall. I pitched the idea to a band I was in, and also to some musicians in the Worship Band at my church. Both bands agreed and I figured that was done. We just need some songs, set a practice schedule and we’re good: we’ve got plenty of time.
As we all know, the best laid plans, right? Life, aka God’s sovereignty, took over and things changed quickly and relatively last minute. One of the leaders in one band became a father, he and his wife adopting a beautiful baby girl, and his time now needed to be elsewhere. In the other band, a sudden serious health issue took precedence and now with 2 months before the concert, no bands. Lord, why is this happening and what do we do?
As demonstrated by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego before being cast onto the fiery furnace, it’s not our level of faith that matters, it’s who our faith is in; our heavenly Father. It’s our faith in who is in the furnace with us. I will confess to feeling frantic and in turmoil until I finally gave it over to the Lord in prayer and resigned my soul to His will. Lord, if you want this to happen, You’ll provide. If You don’t, You have your reasons and I trust You.
He did provide, bountifully. Rick contacted some gifted musicians at his church and they graciously gave of their time, their talents and their music was marvelous! God also blessed us with friends of mine, also gifted musicians who gave of their time and talents, and we enjoyed the gifts God blessed us with that night. Based on the feedback, people were blessed by the music and Onesimus was blessed by their generosity.
I am so grateful that God continues to remind us of His sovereignty and even more so of His love and faithfulness. Thank you, Father, again, for ALL that you do! A special thank you to Rick, who led the efforts and devoted so much of his time to making this happen. He did a tremendous job with so much! Also, a shout out to my fellow board members – Vern, Dan, Phil, Scott and Jose who helped coordinate the evening. As always – a special thanks to Heinrich and Rhonda who serve so faithfully and sacrificially in CCP bringing the hope of the Gospel to lost and hurting people. You are all amazing blessings!