A Tender Privilege

Wow! It was hard to get my engine revving on Sunday. It might be thought that pastors wake up with boundless energy, jump into their preaching clothes, and head to glory (Okay, maybe there are pastors who do this). On the other hand, I ooze out of bed, crawl to the shower, slide into my clothes, dawdle to church, all the time praying that God would give me a shot of the something to produce some type of feeling.

So was my prayer yesterday when I was but yards from my house on the way to church. God chose not to answer my prayer - at least in the way I wanted Him to. It was through interacting with God's people both old and young. It was playing with the worship team. It was teaching my single high school student and college student. It was laughing with the ushers and greeters before church. It was getting up on the platform before friends both old and new.

There was no "sound as of a mighty rushing wind." There were no "tongues as of fire." There was just a growing sense of rightness as we moved through our worship celebration. There were the head nods, the laughter, the occasional comment voiced in a response. There was the enjoyment of opening up God's Word for His people - and making new discoveries for myself as I spoke.

Then, it came time for the benediction. I've gotten more thrilled with doing a benediction over the years. In the early years of ministry, it was Porky Pig doing the final words ... "TTThat's all, Folks!" I've grown to see how it can give a sense of blessing and wellness to people who are going to walk out and face all the things we just talked about. It's not a pep talk, because I'm not asking them to draw anything out from themselves. Instead, I'm asking our Father to provide for them what they need.

1 Samuel 16-17