When I was a little girl, I remember being invited to weddings which included us children. We would dress up in our fancy clothes, and sit through the ‘boring’ ceremony just to get to the best part- the party afterward. There was an air of excitement to the day, but at night it would turn to joyful fun and laughter… and there would be dancing! It was great back then because it gave us something to look forward to.
 |
| No, this really isn't what I saw! |
Often I feel that same excitement when I go to church service. I’m so eager to see all my brothers and sisters, and I can’t wait to hear what God’s been doing and see what’s going on in their lives. Plus, I just love being with them, which is why I understand the reason the early church (just after Jesus rose) got together every day for teaching, fellowshipping, breaking of bread and prayer. (Acts ,46)
So it was on Wednesday night that I found myself just at the end of the exit ramp of the expressway waiting for the light to change. As I looked to the left around the corner I saw what seemed to be a person under the overpass, not with my natural eyes, but with my spirit for he was not completely tangible. (I checked the time- service started)
He was excited and was signaling with His hand for me to follow. Deep inside of me I knew it was the Holy Spirit, and oddly enough, He stayed ahead of me going down the road, continuing to signal yet He looked to get more excited as I drove. I wasn’t sure where He was leading, so I determined to follow where ever He led. Inside of me, pleasure bubbled and my eyes began to water.
Seven minutes later, the Spirit was standing at the corner where I turn to go to service and I parked as quickly as I could and ran to the door wondering what on earth was going on inside as I’d never seen anything like this before. By that time I was crying at His ‘amazing-ness’ as I heard Him speak to my spirit saying something like, "Hurry up, I’m so excited to be here. They’ve invited and welcomed me."
Now, that doesn’t mean He’s never been invited before, after all, I’ve been going to evangelical services for 29 years. I’ve seen the Spirit move many times, and I ‘feel’ Him there- present at most services, but for some reason- this time- He wanted me to see how excited He gets when invited to be with us. It has changed how I understand Him… and now, I’ll never ‘look’ at our precious Holy Spirit the same way again.