God Shut Me Up - And I'm SO Glad He Did...

Last night I had a concert at The Grove Church in Riverside.  I have been booked for over a year to do this event, so when I woke up the morning of, with NO voice, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  I mean, really??  One. More. Thing??  I began to pray and ask others to pray.  And I believed God for a miracle.  So much so, that I randomly made this video:  :)

Well, by about 2pm, it became clear that what God had in mind for this event was not necessarily what I had in mind for the event.  It was clear to both Jon and I that God was going to do something powerful - but not through my voice.  Through Jon's.  Now this may not seem like a big deal to you as you read this, but here's where Jon was at:
*I don't really want to stand in front of an audience looking like this
*When I sang at that wedding last week, all I could think about was how to hide that side of my face behind the microphone
*I am willing to only sing 1 song - my half of The Prayer.  But nothing else.  It's too hard for me to annunciate certain words and different tones.
*I don't have the mind space right now to put into words anything to say or teach

But regardless of our feelings, Jon and I both felt so strongly that this was God's plan for the night.  And what was amazing, was we got emails and messages from several friends who had heard about my lost voice, and who were hearing the same thing.  So Jon pushed through all of the above hesitations.  And what happened...was beautiful.  Powerful.  Amazing. Miraculous.

First, God was gracious enough to give me enough voice to speak His Truth.  I spoke for about 25 minutes - based on Corinthians 4:16-18 and how we have lived this out as a family this past year through my Graves Disease, my mom's terminal illness, and now Jon's brain tumor.  (Corinthians 4:16-18 says "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.")

Then I invited Jon on stage.  THIS is when it got powerful.  Oh wait, I also had the kids come on stage at one point and sing a trio.  Yes, a trio.  Morgan (recently turned 2) made her stage debut.  She had a solo, held her own mic and everything.  It was beyond the cuteness that you are even picturing in your mind right now.  For real.

Ok, back to the powerful.  Jon came on stage and spoke.  No, he taught.  He shared.  Openly.  He cried.  He revealed.  He challenged.  He encouraged.  He was incredible.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  Nor was there anyone who left the same as when they walked in.  God's awesome like that.  He doesn't waste our time.  Nor does He waste our pain.

Jon not only spoke, but he sang.  Beautifully.

At the end, I got to share about God's intimate love for us.  And the invitation that God gives to EVERY person - to accept His free gift of grace.  About 20 women made a decision last night to trust Jesus with their lives.  They chose to fix their eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen.  They chose to allow God to work all things in their lives for the good of them - as they love Him. It was beautiful. The line to talk to Jon and I afterward was long.  The tears were many.  The stories were profound.

Friends, sometimes God has a plan that we don't know and we don't see.  So he shuts us up (literally) to get us out of the way, so His plan can be made known.  (I'm SO glad God shut me up)  Or sometimes He has a plan and we know it, but we are too fearful or insecure to say yes, so He forces the other options out, so the only open door is the one He has planned for us.  (I'm SO glad God used Jon)

God answered our prayers.  He showed up.  Huge.  But He showed up beyond what I had envisioned.  What a relief.  If God only showed up how we envisioned, could you imagine what boring, limited lives we would lead?  But instead, the Bible says He does immeasurably more than we could ever ask or even imagine to ask.  I LOVE that.  You know your biggest hope?  Your hugest dream?  God can and will do BEYOND that.  He can do what your mind can't even conjure up.  He will do what you can't even hope or dream or imagine or think up.  That, is good news.  Because I have found that I can come up with some pretty cool ideas.  But God's ways are higher than my ways.  And I'm always astounded at how much greater and cooler His ideas are.  (who knew??)  ;)

Thank you, friends, for praying.

Oh, and if none of the above satisfied your desire to see an actual physical miracle in the form of my voice healing, take a peek at the video below.  Just enough and just in time for the final song....