When it All Comes Apart

It was January 17th, 2021. On the surface, it seemed like an ordinary day. The weather was 54 degrees and sunny that morning. No major traffic on the way to church. But lurking just beneath the shiny hopeful veneer was total destruction to the fabric of reality itself (or at least it felt that way at the time.) Running on very little sleep, I rushed into church as usual that morning expecting everything to go as smooth as it can on a Sunday morning. Right off the bat, the computers started acting up, then the lighting glitched out, the sound began crackling, and the service hadn't even kicked off. Despite my frustration, the production team got everything up and running smoothly. 

Then, during our second service, we lost power in a very important component. It was at that point that I leaned over to a friend on my production team and jokingly stated that at least the microphones were still working. Then, boom! One of the mics fell off of a table and popped in the main sound system. I’m totally serious! Now my BINGO card was full, and I did not like the prize I was winning. 

In these moments, I relate to the story of Joseph. He was thrown into slavery by his brothers, accused by Potiphar’s wife, and finally thrown into prison. (Okay, his life was a little worse.) But, everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong for him! Despite all that happened, he never gave up on God and God never gave up on him. By the end of his journey, Joseph had become second in command in all of Egypt. He kept his faith in God and was rewarded because of his obedience. 

So back to that Sunday. After feeling completely defeated, I received a group text message from a man that was worshiping in that service. The message said “Great job, praise group! What a beautiful and wonderful sound. You own those drums, David! God bless you all!” That message was the kick in the pants that I needed. This was God reminding me that no matter how I felt about the day, He was able to redeem and bless it. 

Romans 8:28 says “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose.” All things! It doesn’t just say some things, not just Monday through Friday things, but also Sunday morning things. Sometimes we need to step outside of ourselves and look at what God is doing. It is difficult at times to realize that it is not about us and what might be happening to us. The congregation in the room and the congregation online had no idea that the very nature of the universe was crumbling during the service in my eyes. To them, all they could see was God changing their hearts and speaking to them in spite of a few hiccups in the service. If you’re like me, this is an important revelation! We would all do well to remember to get out of God's way and let Him do whatever He wants to do however He wants to do it.

What is God trying to do in your life despite the difficulties you’re facing? Or, perhaps even more importantly, what is He trying to do through you in the lives of others that you can’t see through the fog of your problems? When it all comes apart, don’t forget to ask God to help you see your role in the bigger picture!