Experiencing God: Their Stories

    As I mentioned in my last blog, we just returned home from a youth retreat. We have been planning this retreat for months and were really praying that God would show us which of the teenagers were really ready to hear from Him and dive deeply into His presence. After much prayer, we decided that the retreat would only be for those youth who had faithfully attended our small group Bible study on the life of Jesus (studying the gospel of John). As the retreat drew near, we had 9 youth who had met the requirements of faithful Bible study attendance. We began interceding even more passionately that this would be a time for them to really experience God’s presence. The Bible says in Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” That was our main prayer for this weekend that these teenagers would experience the Lord and would have their hearts completely captured as they tasted of His goodness. God exceeded our expectations!! From the very first prayer and worship session until our final moments together, these teenagers were hungry for God’s presence, they experienced Him, and they fell in love with their God. I want to share with you just a few of their stories.

Joel is one of our 15 year old boys. He has been a Christian for a couple of years now, but before this weekend didn’t seem to understand the connection between his love for God and his love for other people. Joel is constantly having problems with others both in school and at church. He is always talking to me and others at New Song about a fight that he is having with one of his friends. This week we soaked in God’s presence, asked Him to speak to us, and talked about what it looks like to walk in intimacy with the Lord. I watched as the Lord was restoring a friendship between Joel and one of the other youth that had been damaged for months. I could see that the Lord was moving on Joel’s heart and that Joel was learning to love more as he experienced more of God’s love for him. We returned on Sunday in time for our church’s evening service. The teenagers that were on the retreat were given a chance to share with the church how God was at work in their hearts. Joel began to share about how he worshipped, dove into the Word, and experienced God. Then his sharing began to transition into how God was teaching him to trust and love others more. I know that God is moving on his heart. I have noticed since our return that Joel is more patient, apologizes when he is wrong, and hasn’t come to me talking about a fight with a friend at all.

Rosita leapt, twirled, danced, and laughed all weekend. I have never seen her so full of joy and life! Saturday night we had a bonfire on the beach. During this time, we split into small groups to talk about what God had been doing in each of our hearts and to spend some time speaking truth over one another and ministering to each other. We had all of the girls in one small group. One of the other girls, Teresa, began to be vulnerable and share her heart. She shared not only about how God was working in her life in this weekend, but to share hurts of her homelife following the death of her father. Teresa sat sobbing as she poured out her heart to the Lord and to us. As Teresa finished sharing, Rosita came a wrapped her arms around Teresa, embraced her, and prayed over her. It was so beautiful to see their deepening love for God overflow into a love for one another!

Jovanny‘s mom walked out on their family the day before our retreat. She has been saying for about a month that she was going to leave, but had yet to actually leave. Jovanny was devastated. I think that God allowed the retreat to fall on this particular weekend so that His beloved son would have time alone with Him to mourn and be comforted by his Heavenly Father. I watched as Jovanny wept before the Lord and talked with myself and others about all that he was feeling. I also watched as he danced before the Lord in adoration. Jovanny’s heart was aching so deeply during this weekend, but his Heavenly Father met with Jovanny intimately, comforted him, and held Jovanny close to His heart.

Saturday night, while we were sitting around the fire asking the girls how God has been working in their lives over the weekend, Elisa looked up at us with a huge smile on her face. She was so giddy that she was almost giggling as she said, “I have never experienced God’s presence before; and you know what… I LIKE IT!!” Elisa is doing exactly what we have prayed and longed for- she is experiencing God’s presence and having her heart captured by His love. We have been home for almost two weeks now and that smile has not left her face. Elisa is still absolutely glowing as she basks in the unconditional love of her Heavenly Father.

    I love seeing God move on the hearts of these teenagers!! I want to give a special THANK YOU to New Prospect Baptist Church who donated money to help make this retreat possible. Thank you so much for your generosity… the Lord is using your gift to bring His Kingdom in the lives of these teenagers.