"Stand still and see the things the Lord is about to do."

Hey dear friends, you won't believe my view right now! I'm sitting at my cabin window; it's a sunny day in Scotland (what a miracle), and I'm watching the swans as they make their way across the loch. It's in these moments that I have to put on some music, sip my iced latte, and pinch myself to make sure it's all real. This morning, as I was spending some time with the Lord, I was reading 1 Samuel, where Samuel was addressing God's people and telling them about the blessings and potential curses of having a king. And there was a verse that so perfectly encapsulated how my heart is feeling as we prepare for our six weeks of camp that begin in a few days. 

1 Samuel 12:16, 24 says, "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you." As I take today and this week to prepare for the new group of interns to arrive (I have an off week between the first half of the summer and the second), I can't help but stand still in awe of all the great things the Lord is about to do. I am baffled at how powerful camp can be, and the way that EVERY SINGLE SUMMER, there are campers who come to know the Lord for the very first time. So, as I stand still and expectantly, I am making sure that my heart is prepared and posed to serve the Lord faithfully in light of all of the great things that he has done and is going to do.

But, there is one more thing that I really have been wrestling with and pondering. The thought is this; even if I never saw the Lord move in my own life, would I still worship him and serve him the way that I do now? I've been asking the Lord to remind me of the power of the Gospel and the severity of what Jesus did on the cross by taking on my sin and shame and then making it his own so I can be clean. It is so much easier (not easy, but easier) to serve the Lord when you're seeing some of the fruit of your labor, but is the Gospel and Jesus's sacrifice enough for me to serve him with all my heart even if I never saw any fruit? 

SEU Worship dropped a new album recently, and there is a song that I have been playing over and over again called "What A God," and one of the lyrics says, "If one word is the only thing you speak, then I've heard it all. If I feel Your heart and never see Your hand, I still have it all." So, in light of 1 Samuel 12:16, 24, my prayer is this:

"Lord, I am so expectant and ready to see you move. But Lord Jesus, remind me and my heart that whether I see the fruit or not - no matter the outcome, no matter my feelings, and no matter whether I'm serving from a place of fullness or emptiness - allow the passion I have for you and what you've done on the cross to be enough for me to go on another day."

My question and encouragement for you, dear reader, is this - is the power of the Gospel and what Jesus did on the cross enough for you? If you never saw God move again and simply had to trust that he is good, would you still believe him to be good? And what is it in your life that the Lord about to do that you should prepare your heart for?

When we wait in expectation, praying prayers of boldness, humbly submitting ourselves to the Lord; there is so much that he can do. What a God that he loved us enough to send his son. And what a God, that he allows us to see him move today. 

God is so good, and as I prepare for these next few weeks of camp, I am so beyond excited to see what the Lord does. I am so excited to see campers hear the Gospel for the VERY FIRST TIME, and how incredibly honored am I that I get to be here to be a tiny part of it. So please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to move at camp this summer, and that these students' hearts would be prepared to hear the greatest news in all of eternity. And I'll be praying that whatever you're going through right now, that the Lord will continue to show you the great things that he has done and going to do. 

I love you all dearly, and I can't wait to continue to share with you all the incredible things that the Lord does this summer at Cairn Brae. :)