Hospital Karaoke

These last few weeks have been challenging for the Miller family, but especially the last few days. Our youngest daughter turned 2 on Tuesday, but had developed a fever and kindness infection days before. The week was spent in and out of doctor’s offices, an ER (with a 6-hour wait), and eventually our local hospital. Adalyn spent 3 entire days in a hospital room, most of the time with a fever, very little sleep, and an IV. It was miserable for all of us. While I tried to find time to sleep and study for our Wednesday and Sunday services, we also had to pass our older daughter off to friends and family so that Jenn or I could be with Adalyn in the hospital.

The great thing about hospitals, however, is that they have a very effective way of realigning your priorities. I slept 1 night in a hospital bed, and took quite a few strolls down the halls filled with scurrying nurses, crying babies, and beeping IV machines. Although Adalyn didn’t enjoy her stay too much, for the most part, she did really well. In fact, it was her singing that helped me to remember the proper perspective.

She sang quite a few songs while in her hospital bed, but the one she sang the most was my favorite by far. She sang Desert Song by Hillsong, which speaks about the fact that we have a reason to sing regardless of what season we’re in.

Although Adalyn probably didn’t understand the depths of her words, I was amazed at what I witnessed. There was my 2-year old daughter, on the week of her 2nd birthday, hooked up to an IV, living in a hospital for 3 days with a high fever and a severe kidney infection, and yet the words that came out of her mouth were:

“All of my life, in every season, You are still God, and I have a reason to worship…”

Watch the video below and be reminded that wherever you are in life and whatever you’re going through, if you know Jesus, you have a reason to sing!

Don’t shoot it down!

When God lays a ministry idea on my heart, often times the rational, cautious, budgeting side of me is the first enemy to shoot the idea down. I immediately say things like, “I don’t think anyone would even come to that” or “There’s no way we can afford an event like that.” I don’t even wait for Satan to come in with discouragement or frustrations – I save him the hassle by shooting it down before he even has a chance. I’ve done it quite a few times throughout my years of ministry, but thankfully I’ve learned my own tendency to do this and have been able to work against it.

What I’ve learned to to do is this: when an idea for ministry comes to mind or the opportunity to take a step of faith presents itself, before I do anything with it, I take a few days to just pray about it. When I say “a few days,” I do not mean 365 days – I mean 3 or 4. I feel that a lot of Christians miss opportunities to see God use them because they’re just sitting there praying for God to use them…but that’s a different blog altogether.

When these opportunities arise, prayer is vital, because it realigns me with the God I serve and the One who will be funding the event if we go through with it.

Sometimes through prayer, I realize that it was probably more my idea than anything else, and I end up not doing it. More often, however, I’m reminded that God spoke things into existence and mandated sharing the Gospel with the world. With Him on my side and that command being lived out, what do I have to worry about?

Has God given you an idea for ministry or sharing your faith with someone? Do you feel led in a certain direction? Is there a step of faith that you should be taking that you’ve been praying about for way too long now?

Don’t shoot it down!

If people will hear about Jesus through it, your motives are right, and you’re going through the proper channels to make it happen, what are you waiting for? Take a leap of faith and don’t look back!

Confidence vs. Arrogance

We’re 19 weeks into our study through Joshua so far. It’s been amazing. I was praying that by the end of our study, we’d have to split to 2 services. That happened before we got to Chapter 6! The book has been an amazing glimpse at what a strong leader and a united army can do as they take bold steps of faith together. Although Israel had its downfalls throughout the book (Ai & Gibeon), over all, they’ve remained united, dealt swiftly with sin, and trusted God for the impossible.

The book has been inspiring to the whole church on many levels, but it’s also been inspiring to me as a leader. Joshua was an amazing man of faith. His trust in God’s faithfulness and ability to provide and protect inspire me to greater faith as a leader. His flock was 1.5 million and mine is about 150, so what I do is on a bit of a smaller scale, but very practical nonetheless.

One thing that has stood out to me throughout our study thus far is that Joshua wasn’t arrogant, he was confident. There’s a big difference. Arrogance is pride, but Joshua’s confidence came from faith.

Joshua didn’t march into battle priding himself on what a great military leader he was (although he was an amazing leader), he marched into battle knowing that he served a great God! He didn’t trust in swords, but in his Savior. I think David’s words in Psalm 20 sum up Joshua’s M.O. quite well…

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” – Psalm 20:7

Although the enemy was huge and the odds seemed impossible, Joshua had confidence in the God of the impossible. That confidence enabled him to lead his people across the flooding Jordan River, around the walled city of Jericho, against armies with an innumerable number of soldiers, and even to pray that God would make the sun stand still in the sky.

Arrogance in yourself doesn’t pause the sun, but confidence in the Lord did. There’s a big difference.

We have to be careful to discern between arrogance and confidence in our own lives. As we march forward and encounter obstacles and enemies along the way, who and what are we trusting in? Are we marching forward because we’re good at what we do, a strong leader with great ideas, have a big budget or a big following, etc., or is it because of a mandate from the Lord?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

However, the reverse is true as well. If God is against us, it doesn’t matter who is for us!

1 Peter 5 says that “God opposes the proud.” Arrogance will turn God against you, but confidence in Him and His plan is the way to go.