Obedience Releases Breakthrough Joy
From Kevin
Luke 1 tells the incredible story of John the Baptist and Jesus being born. In this narrative, we have two opposite responses to the good news from on high: John’s dad, Zacharias, reacts skeptically, and as a result he loses the ability to speak for a while.
Mary, on the other hand, responds to Gabriel’s declaration with acceptance, leading Mary to sing the prophetic Magnificat at Elizabeth’s house. Both Elizabeth and John (still in the womb) were filled with the Holy Spirit and joined the holy songfest. It was extraordinary. Fast forward from Judea to a baptism service at our church, where I saw this principle lived out.
I have the distinct privilege of being the towel boy to the freshly-baptized individuals during the wonderful, worshipful baptisms at our church. During this particular service, as the last few people who had gone to the prep class finished getting dunked and were being prayed for, the Director of our Hospitality Team ran up to me.
She told me there was a women crying in the lobby who felt strongly that she needed to be baptized. I quickly found her, asked her name (let’s call her “Rita”), and if Jesus was her Lord and Savior. She responded with, “Definitely!” so I jetted to our Senior Pastor Dave Hoffman to see if we could baptize one more person, even though it wasn’t according to our normal protocol.
Rita was baptized, and then we witnessed something even more amazing. Pastor Dave felt there were others in the room that God might be compelling to be baptized, like Rita. So he gave an open invitation to come forward right then and there.
For a few seconds the room was silent…and then they started coming from all over. (I still have “Holy Spirit goosebumps” remembering it.) More people were being baptized now, than who had went through the class!
As worship continued, I found Rita. Tears of joy were streaming down her face.
“Rita, your obedience caused this outpouring of joy today. Not just for you, but for everyone. If you had not responded to what the Lord was prompting you to do, none of this would have happened. Obedience unleashed joy. Remember today and keep living your life that way.”
A couple days later, my beautiful wife, Sylvia & I went to dinner. As we were seated, my wife commented on our server’s beautiful eyelashes. (This is a common occurrence with Sylvia, as she makes friends before she even meets them.) As she and our server, (who we’ll call “Olivia”) were becoming BFFs, I felt an urging to ask her if she was married.
Man, that was weird for me, but stranger things than that have turned out well, so I figured, What the heck? and risked asking her. Olivia was taken aback, and I wondered if I had stepped over a personal boundary. She replied that she had been married but it didn’t work out. She was choosing to be vulnerable with us, so I asked her another question: “Do you believe in prayer?”
She really opened up after that one, enthusiastically listing international mission trips that were life-changing for her. After we quickly compared world missions travel experiences, I asked Olivia if I could pray for her. I prayed that God had something special for her. He was intimately involved. I prayed God would bless Olivia as he had Sylvia and I. It was short, powerful, and to the point. Olivia excused herself and hurried off to a back room.
As Sylvia and I looked at each other, wondering what had just taken place, Sylvia pulled out a slip of paper.
“I wanted to read this to you tonight,” Sylvia told me. It was a short letter written to us years ago from a spiritual father we shared, telling us what the Lord intended for our marriage and ministry together.
Tears rolled down both our checks, which was all-too-appropriate as Olivia arrived back at our table, dabbing her own tear-filled eyes.
“Thank you so much. You have no idea what your prayer meant to me. Whenever you eat here from now on, you have to come to my station. Thank you!” she said.
“Well, Olivia,” I replied, “I think this is for you too. I didn’t know that Sylvia was going to read this tonight, but I really think it is for you.” I handed her the note, which she stuffed it in her pocket.
“I’m reading this later!” she told us. “I’ve got to get you some dinner.”
Whether you are me risking an awkward question, Olivia, Rita, John, or Mary know this: obedience releases a breakthrough of joy. If you listen to the Lord, whether in the great or the small, you too will step into His adventure of joy.