REMEMBER AS A KID . . . lying on the ground on your back and looking up at the sky? You tried to search the clouds out for shapes of animals or objects or people – trying to make sense out of the jumbled frothy white shapes that resembled dollops of whipped cream about to adorn a piece of yummy chocolate cake! When you spotted something that looked familiar to you, you cried out, “Look, over there! See, that cloud looks just like a teddy bear – or a kitten – or a giraffe!” It’s kind of neat when we can make sense of things, at least once in awhile! But so often in our lives, we experience the jumbled experiences that seem to just tumble into our lives unannounced, and try as we might, we cannot seem to make any sense of them at all! And as our circumstances go on and on without change even after we’ve prayed and prayed, we begin to feel as if God isn’t listening, or doesn’t know what we’re going through … and sometimes we get to the point where we wonder if He even cares. Today I heard a story that brought tears to my eyes and a burning new hope within me for what lies ahead! There was this young teen named Daniel, who was an active part of his church and youth group. He loved the Lord and loved serving Him however he could. One year, he encountered a fierce case of sleeplessness at night. No matter how hard he tried to sleep, he could not. The days turned into weeks, then into months. He prayed – his parents prayed. They would pray that God would just let him get even a few hours of sleep at night. He was going to school, but finally had to quit because of the total lack of sleep. The teen continued to cry out to God, all the while still being faithful to go to church and to be involved with the youth. One night as he was pleading with God, he just broke. He told God that it seemed like He didn’t even care about him anymore – after all, he was just a teen. Maybe God was too busy for him, or had bigger things to take care of. Finally, about three in the morning, in desperation Daniel cried out, “God, I just need to know that you still love me – even if You won’t help me get any sleep!” Nothing. A day or two later, his mom asked him to pick up the mail and there was an envelope addressed to him. In this day of e-mails and texting, he couldn’t figure out who would send him a letter because he never, ever got any mail. His mom encouraged him to open it, and to his amazement it was from a girl in his church that he barely knew that lived just across the street and down a little ways. When he began to read the message, he was even more amazed! She told him that he’d probably think this was really weird – and not understand. But she had been awakened suddenly in the middle of the night and he was on her mind. She got up for a few minutes and then went back to bed to go to sleep – and she couldn’t. She began to be very concerned for him, and when sleep wouldn’t come to her, she knew she had to jot down on a piece of paper what God was telling her to say. She said, “God wants me to tell you that He loves you, and that He woke me up to have me give you this message. But it’s so late, I don’t want to awaken your parents with a phone call at this time of the night, so I’ll just drop this note in the mail tomorrow.” Daniel ran across the street and asked her which night this happened and what time she awoke. When she told him, he realized it was at the very same moment he was crying out to God in desperation. Sleep still didn’t come – for more days and more weeks. At least he knew now what he was longing to hear – that God loved him. He continued to be faithful in his walk with the Lord, and soon it was time to go to summer church camp. His dad dropped him off, and the week began. To make a long story short, there had been some things going on with some of the kids in the youth group, and the speaker felt led to take one evening just to invite the kids to share what was happening. Silence. No one spoke, waiting for the speaker to give up and move on. But he persisted. Finally, Daniel began to share about how he had felt forsaken by God and how, though his prayers for sleep had not been answered yet … his longing to know that God still loved him had been miraculously answered. Immediately another young teen spoke up and shared that because of circumstances in his life, he had decided to end it all. But thinking that he didn’t want to leave this life without at least talking to one person, he tried to think who he could call. It was four in the morning. Who would be up at that hour? No one – oh, yes, there would be this kid who can’t sleep. He’d be up, he thought. So he called Daniel and heard his voice immediately. When asked what was going on, knowing that at that hour of the night, it couldn’t be good – the other kid broke down and spilled out his plan to end his life. Daniel pleaded with him not to do that but to meet him for breakfast and they would talk. They did just that, and the kid who was contemplating suicide told the group that if Daniel had not been up that night, he would have carried out his plans. He said, “I’m alive today because Daniel couldn’t sleep that night.” One by one, several more young people spoke up to share similarly gripping stories of how their lives had been saved because of Daniel’s sleepless nights. It seemed that Satan had attacked this youth group, attempting to take many of them out. God saw fit to use this young teen, rather than the pastor or the youth leader. He put the sleeplessness on Daniel, who did not then understand at all why God would not answer. After this night at summer camp, now he understood – now it all made sense. He had been sleepless for a greater purpose than his own rest. He had been chosen by God to stand in the gap for these other young people. And so important was this assignment from God, that his thorn in the flesh had actually saved lives from destruction! Next time you and I wonder why we’re going through what we’re going through, let’s remember Daniel from 2010 and Job from the Old Testament … and trust God that He knows what He’s doing … and in due time, He will let us in on the plan! Wow!!! I love what God does through our pain, if we’ll just hang on tight and not let go!!!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- WHAT A PRIVILEGE it is to gather together each week in God’s House to express to Him our adoration and praise! No matter what kind of a week we’ve encountered, God shows up in our midst and ministers right back to us, just what we need! And this past Sunday was no exception … He was with us in full measure as Pastor Doug began the series on “The Fingerprints of God!”
- SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY WISHES go out to Matthias and Liz who celebrated their anniversary on July 20th; may God continue to bless your lives together!
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent out to Justin who is celebrating his birthday on July 27th; God bless you, Justin – and we miss you already!
- RELAY FOR LIFE again made a huge difference as 4200+ luminaries lit the pathway honoring those whose lives have been touched by cancer. Thanks to each of our church family who participated in the raising of funds and the program, as well as the walk. Special acknowledgement goes to Tina and the Rogers family, and to Isaac and Lizzie for all their extra work and involvement!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, JULY 25TH: 10:00 A.M, - WORSHIP & PRAISE continuing on with message 2 in the series, “GOD’S FINGERPRINTS ARE … ALL OVER YOU!” Pastor Doug will be focusing on the creative aspects of God’s fingerprints this week, so plan to come and bring a friend or two with you!
- 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL – with classes for everyone that will bring God’s Word just a little closer to your hearts as we all participate in this enjoyable learning experience!
- SUNDAY, AUGUST 1ST: Josh & Sarah and Noah & Caleb will be joining us for worship & praise, and they will be sharing the morning message about being an active participant where God is at work not only in Australia but in many other countries they’ve traveled to this past year. And during the Sunday School hour, they will be sharing a powerful global mission presentation that will challenge our hearts to birth new commitments to reach out more than ever before! Don’t miss this!
- AUG 14TH: “ALL ABOUT GUYS” outing to the Twin’s game vs. Oakland in the Cities at 6:10 p.m. – who can you invite?!
- AUG 15TH: CHURCH LEADERSHIP/PLANNING MTG for all adults; watch for more details to come!
- OCT 22/23: WOMEN OF FAITH CONFERENCE – with an “Over the Top” theme at the Xcel Center; plan now to attend!!!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- If we really knew what God had in mind for us and for Elevation North, we wouldn’t be able to contain our excitement and joy! So let’s be active in pursuing His perfect will not only for our own lives – but for the ministry God has given us as a church! There’s no time to waste; God’s Word says NOW is the time! Let’s be on our knees for those who need God’s healing touch, for Tina and Sean who are on a mission trip, for several unspoken requests, for Justin as he begins his new military assignment, and let’s continue to fervently pray for and claim God’s new place for Elevation North! He is SO able!!!
- THIS WEEK . . . Remember, “Our disappointments are often God’s appointments … adversity is the touchstone of character.” ~ Bill Bright
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
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