At the Feet of Jesus
May 2004
I can remember two or three time at
the most when I had a spiritual experience
so great that it could not easily
be forgotten. I had one such experience
at a small women's conference where
I was one of the main speakers.
One of the hardest things that I have
to do sometimes in my work is travel
alone. My husband or a close friend
normally travels with me to take care
of the business aspect of the trip
so I can concentrate on ministering
the Word of God, but for some reason
it hadn't worked out that way this
time.
The conference had been going on for
three days, but I soon discovered
when I entered the hotel that they
had somehow forgotten to display and
sell my books. All the books were
still tucked away in boxes underneath
a table. Frustrated, I continued past
the table and into the back of the
room where the ladies were seated.
. . all 60 ladies. That would have
been fine with me; it was just that
they had told me to anticipate 500
women there. Traveling alone and trying
to lug around a couple of big boxes
of leftover books (I had shipped enough
for 500 women) in a crowded airport
is tough! There was no one there to
help me with my books, the event wasn't
anything like what I had expected
in terms of the number of people who
were there and I was having a hard
time. Even though the ladies were
very warm and tender in their words,
for some reason, I still felt very
uncomfortable in this situation.
I finally asked the Lord a very direct
question, "Lord, why am I here?"
I know that the Lord has a reason
for everything, but I wanted to know
very specifically why the Lord had
chosen to place me here.
Now, you need to understand the perspective
that I am coming from. When I am invited
to speak it is normally for an audience
of 2000 women or more. This is not
a prerequisite for me to come and
speak, it just seems that that is
where I end up most of the time. I
don't say that in any way to speak
highly of myself but only to illustrate
my point. The conferences that I usually
speak at are wonderfully organized.
They fly in professional singers and
elaborately decorate the stage. The
book tables are organized and volunteers
man them. The microphones are all
checked to make sure that the sound
is in perfect working order, and the
instruments are rehearsed and played
to rival any symphony orchestra.
This conference was none of the above.
The singers that came to the microphone
were little old ladies who just loved
God. The qualification for becoming
a member of this praise team was not
vocal ability. . . and it showed.
They sang several praise songs all
off pitch and off beat. I was amazed.
I hadn't been in a situation like
this in so long that it took me off
guard.
However, the very last song in the
medley was something that I will never
forget. A little old black lady led
us in a song called, "Hail Jesus,
You're my King." When this kind,
sweet spirit-filled woman came to
the microphone and began to belt out
the words to this song an enormous
smiled made it's way onto my cheeks.
I couldn't help it. There is nothing
like an older woman singing the praises
of the Lord. They don't have to be
on key and they don't have to know
all of the correct words. You can
just see the power of the Lord in
their music. Well, my friend, the
Lord knew that this was all that I
needed. My spirits were lifted, and
I ended up speaking with passion and
purpose. Little did I know that I
had not come simply to speak to those
women that day; we were all about
to have an encounter with God.
After my presentation, as most of
us prepared our belongings to leave,
it happened. God showed up. It started
softly with one woman uncontrollably
but quietly singing praises to God.
Then the sound of worship grew exponentially
and more women began to join in. Tears
streaming down their faces, one by
one, these ladies began to spontaneously
sing praises to God. Just like the
ripple effect that a rock has when
thrown into a pond, the Holy Spirit
began to infiltrate that place where
we were. For one whole hour, these
sixty women from this small church
were praising the Lord with all their
might. I saw that the women did not
care about whether or not the microphones
were balanced or whether the program
would end on time. No one was looking
at their watches in disgust because
the hour was growing late. God was
there. He had taken center stage.
I have been at many conferences where
people leave whether or not the speaker
is finished because they have "better
things to do." These women showed
me that they too had "better
things to do," and the best thing
was to sit at His feet. To experience
who He was. To position themselves
to receive from Him. No orchestra
just the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.
No professional singers just the Most
High God. No pomp and circumstance,
just some women serious about meeting
with the Master.
This scene, outside of my comfort
zone, drove me to the feet of Jesus.
I fell to my knees in this room amongst
women who were serious about experiencing
Him and in their midst I felt unworthy.
I repented, "Lord, forgive me
for being caught up in the small things
that don't even matter anyway and
not concentrating totally on you.
Please allow me to know you like these
women know you. I am asking that I
see you as they do. Master, this is
my request. I want to know you more."
In His holy presence, I caught a glimpse
my depravity. When God shows up, it
shows you how needy you are. Like
Isaiah, who when He saw the Lord said:
Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because
I am a man of unclean lips, And I
live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the
Lord of hosts.
I had seen the King. I stayed there
in my fetal position on the floor
for quite some time. The presence
of God was thick like a cloud. So
thick that I couldn't move. I was
embarrassed and ashamed that such
trivial and insignificant things
as book sales and the number of women
at a conference and whether or not
I was traveling with someone or not
could have almost kept me from seeing
the fullness of the Lord in all of
His holiness. I was humbled that God
would have used me to speak to these
women who in my estimation were a
whole lot closer to Him than I was.
I now knew why I was there. He wanted
to show me that outside of my comfort
zone was exactly where He needed me
to be sometimes in order to do supernatural
things in my life. He needed me to
re-position myself at His feet so
that I could received from Him. He
also made it clear to me that He would
rather be with 60 women whose hearts
are serious about sitting at His feet
than 3000 who were concerned about
some religious program.
Being at His feet suggests your desire
to put all else aside for a time so
that you are right where you need
to be to receive blessing from the
Lord. We must ask God to forgive us
for not taking seriously the beauty
of sitting still, uninterrupted, single-mindedly
focused and humbly positioned at His
feet. It is there that He challenges
us and calls us into a more close
relationship with Him.
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