Let Us Rejoice
Last Sunday we gathered together to rejoice together over the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was a mighty celebration of praise, worship and testimonies of Hope. At the end of the service, Pastor Pat Jones reminded us that we are all like stars in the night sky, shining the Hope of Christ to the dark world around us.
A crucial part of being lights of hope is being open to unexpected promptings by God. Our Chinese Congregation Pastor, Sukmay Yei, is sharing on the blog today about her many unexpected 'Divine Appointments' lately, and the joy she has experienced through them. Read her post below:
As I start writing this, the verse and song keep ringing in my mind: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) In my mind it's non-stop, but very joyous!!!
I cannot figure out exactly why this verse, because in the last couple of weeks the Lord has been shuffling my schedule non-stop, adding many unexpected Divine Appointments in-between that make every day very exciting!
For example, a four people fellowship lunch turns out to be nine; unscheduled long distance drives on very tiring days are made possible because of being energized by the testimonies of the Lord from the appointments right before; just rescheduled an appointment but within 35 minutes a new believer who has been praying and longing for a one-on-one discipleship session at that particular time slot called and filled right in; a short-noticed but holy-spirit-urged visitation turns out to be deep and joyous prayers; getting ready to leave the campus after ministry but approached by two students one after another – one needs prayer and the other wants to know more about Jesus!
All are unexpected, and all the people mentioned above are different – Christians, pre-Christians, different ages, different backgrounds, from different geographies – local and international! However, the common denominator is: all of us enjoy the “Joy” from the Lord! And therefore at this moment the Lord seems to be smiling at me saying “My dear daughter, this is what I mean by let US rejoice and be glad in it!”
Yes Lord, You are great, no matter what scenario, you let US rejoice in community with You and with people!
Another longer distance drive is coming up, this time it is a scheduled one! Looks like it is just me driving … but actually Lord, You are driving with me! And again, let US rejoice and be glad in it! I look so forward to have this very joyous trip with my Dear Lord! Thank You Lord! Thank You Lord!