It kind of snuck up on me but when I got out my Bible study tote this morning and started putting everything in it, I got that familiar butterfly feeling in my stomach. I get that way for a couple of reasons.
One is that I am completely ill-equipped to do the job of a facilitator! I've been doing this thing for over 10 years now and each time I ask God why in the world He gives me the privilege when there are people who are way more qualified and gifted to do it. I get nervous about standing up in front of people. I worry about whether there will be too many women in the class or too few. I get nervous and start telling things that I probably shouldn't...like today's vasectomy story! Oh, yes I did! :)
Secondly, I get the flutters because I just love studying the Word with women! I doubt our men get this way. Women just feel everything so deeply and so when God's Word jumps off the page onto the red hot pavement of their life and they are changed by it they just can't keep it to themselves. Even if they never say a word, I can just tell by the look on their face that are getting it -- that it is speaking to them and they are ready to go and walk in the truth they are learning.
"So thankful" was all that came to mind as I entered our beautiful new Equipping Center. I've led Bible study in some pretty rough surroudings. The last three sessions have been in some pretty old, musty portable buildings. I once led a study down in the youth party room at our church -- complete with walls painted dark blue and stars and planets painted on the walls -- no windows. But today? Well, today was my first time to lead in our new building. I must say I was so grateful! We had a nice big 42" flat panel to watch Beth on, the chairs were comfy, the room was clean...it was awesome. (Incidentally, my pastor's wife and I joked that we are the last two people we know that still have the 32" televisions that weigh about 1000 pounds and are about 4 feet deep!)
But it isn't about whether or not the room is clean or that the television is new or that the chairs are comfortable. Its about women coming into the presence of God to study at His feet. And, boy, did they come. There were 25 of us there this morning cracking open our new Bible study workbooks and maybe even opening our Bibles for the first time to study the one book in the Bible that doesn't mention God's precious name one single time!
And yet He is there...
Something so profound that Beth shared in the introductory session was that we need to have the anxious expectation that God is working whether we see Him or not and no matter whether or not we feel Him He is smack dab in the middle of our life and can make an appearance at any time!
She also reminded us that there are no coincidences. The things we call coincidences are those times when God moves and just chooses to remain anonymous.
And without spoiling too much for those of you who are starting your study next week, there is this quote from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (which I HIGHLY recommend):
"In His providence, God attends not only to apparently momentous events and people but also to those that seem both mundane and trivial...Indeed, so all encompassing is God's attention to events within creation that nothing...happens by chance."
Nothing happens by chance...
25 women...
all ages...
all walks of life...
backgrounds that are wildly unique...
all coming together...
not by chance but brought together by God...
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
Blessings,
Dori
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