I shared the following account with one of my prayer-warrior sisters who urged me to write about it so that I could encourage others. I pray this account will encourage and remind readers that God is at work in and through every situation whether we can clearly see His work or not and that we can celebrate God in every situation, even the difficult ones—OK, don’t stop reading here or you’ll miss the explanation of how we can do that! I also pray the Lord would use this to help readers look for, identify, and begin to step into opportunities to share the Gospel as each of us goes about doing what God has called us to do in the places He has called us to do them, as Matthew 28:18-20 commands.
Recently, after church on Sunday, I stopped at a restaurant where I frequently eat. It is very close to the church where I am a member and serve, so I’m often there after services on Sundays and before services on Wednesdays.
From inquiries my last several visits, I knew that one of the female employees had been on vacation and had been temporarily assigned to another location. So, I was glad to see her and chatted about her vacation, etc. She asked me what I had been up to the past couple of weeks.
I said, “Let me tell you about all the celebrations I’ve been involved with over the past two interesting weeks.” (OK, yes, most of my weeks, and days for that matter, are interesting, but not quite like this!)
I continued, “Since I’ve seen you last, many friends and I have celebrated as we walked through all phases of life here on earth—from conception to death to eternal life.” (Confused look on her face, opportunity to talk ended.)
I kept praying for an opportunity to share the Gospel with her. After getting my food and putting it all on a table, I went out to my car and grabbed a Bible I keep handy. It has Scripture marked to use in sharing the Gospel. When I work through sharing with a person, I give that Bible to them and suggest they read back over those verses again later on, and then to start reading the Gospel of Mark. (I put one of my business cards in the Bible to indicate where the Mark begins.)
As I walked back in the door, God answered my prayer for the opportunity to share the Gospel—but not with that lady.
A young woman who had been in line behind me, walked up to my table and said, “What do you mean you celebrated all phases of life from conception on?”
I invited her to sit down and eat with me and explained that my practice is to thank God for my food before I eat. I prayed aloud thanking God for our food and for the opportunity to talk with a new friend.
I answered …
- we celebrated with excitement the arrival, very soon we hope, of three new babies.
- we celebrated in awe at God’s creation and rejoiced in the birth of twins.
- we celebrated birthdays for family and friends whose birthday ages range from 1-year-old to 99 years old.
- we celebrated with anticipation for the future of a couple whose wedding is just around the corner.
- we celebrated with joy the marriage of a young couple.
- we celebrated in amazement the wedding anniversaries of family and friends who celebrated from 2 years to 66 years of marriage.
- we celebrated God’s grace that enabled family and friends to face the uncertainty of disease diagnoses.
- we celebrated with thanksgiving, while grieving the death of loved ones.
- we celebrated God’s faithfulness in the lives of so many people.
(Whew!)
She said, “I understand celebrating a lot of that stuff, but how do you celebrate hearing you have cancer or a loved one has died?”
I explained that my answer would not make sense without my first sharing with her what the Bible says. I asked if she was a Christ-follower (aka Christian). She said, “Well, I go to church with my grandma at Christmas.”
I shared the Gospel with her, then I took each of the celebrations I mentioned earlier and gave her a brief explanation about how we can celebrate all things that happen in life—even a cancer diagnosis or the death of a loved one.
I explained that “celebrating” those things does not mean we go through life with blinders on, not facing the reality and gravity of situations. We aren’t happy or shouting “Whoppee!” that someone has received a disease diagnosis, or that a loved one has died. We celebrate that God is faithful to us—His children—as He walks with us through the darkness that accompanies many of life’s situations thus giving us the strength and stamina to stand firm in our faith. I also explained that Christ-followers who die spend eternity in heaven. So, while we miss them here on earth as we grieve and establish new norms in our lives, we know they are worshipping God in heaven for eternity and that we and other Christ-followers will also spend eternity in heaven worshipping God.
The result? We celebrate Who God is, our salvation, His faithfulness to us, and His enabling grace and strength to trust Him in every situation.
I had responsibilities at church that evening and needed to go, so I asked if I could pray for her right then. I invited her to go to church with me that evening, she nervously declined. I added, “My card’s in the Bible. Call or email with any questions, and I’ve love for you to come visit us on Sunday.
Thank you Lord, for this opportunity!
I got an email from her the next morning thanking me for talking with her and asking me a couple of follow-up questions. Please join me in praying the Lord would be pleased to cultivate and grow the seeds planted in our discussion and pray for more opportunities to interact and talk with this young woman, as well as the employee with whom I had spoken.
We “celebrate” in the midst of difficult situations as we put our faith, trust, and hope in the Sovereign God of the Universe.
For Christ-followers, this meme gives us the answer:
In what difficult situations is God calling you to celebrate?
Are you looking for opportunities to share the Gospel with those whom the Lord brings across your path?
Start the discussion