What an amazing first retreat for the NTD women! (North Texas District) We were blessed with amazing speakers, powerful worship, and precious community.
As retreat coordinator, I will be the first to admit that I feel the pressure to make sure everything comes together smoothly. Putting together a retreat for 650 ladies is no small task. When I arrived on Thursday, my brain was working overtime trying to make sure there was nothing that was being missed. If you saw me and I looked frazzled or deep in thought- I probably was :)
Thankfully, I had a sweet friend who spoke truth into my life. She told me to sit down and rest, enjoy my supper and remember, "it's not my job." At first I disagreed with her, actually it is my job. I'm the Retreat Coordinator. But over the next several hours, God spoke to my heart. It was not my job. Sure, I was the one who was available if any issues arose; but ultimately, finding the solution was not my job. God reminded me, that was His job.
We had covered this retreat in prayer (and I believe the ladies could feel that the moment they drove onto the campgrounds). We had planned in advance. We had thought through the schedule and the events of the weekend. This was not just something we had decided to throw together last week, this was months of praying and planning and preparing.
God's quiet whisper said, "This is not your job daughter, this is my job." I was not responsible to make sure everything was happening perfectly. It was not my job to remember every detail that could possibly come up. It was my job to obey my Father and listen for His voice. If He reminded me of something to do, then I could do it. If someone came to me with a problem, it was not a surprise to God. He already knew the problem and He already had a solution. I merely needed to ask Him how I should handle it. He was Faithful to answer.
I did not need to worry or stress. I needed to trust that God is Faithful! God is not just Faithful in the big things, He is faithful in the little things. I cannot tell you the number of times God was Faithful. For example, during one of the services a lady came to our leadership team. She had hurt her hand and needed some ice. As we left our office to find the nurse, the nurse walked by the office. Out of 650 ladies, the one we needed walked by at the exact moment we needed her. That is God's Faithfulness!
There is story after story of those small moments when God proved Himself Faithful. This was not our retreat, this was God's. Yes, we were His hands and feet on the ground, physically doing the labor. But the ideas, the planning, the results, those are all God's. We never wanted them to be ours. The cry of our heart has always been, more of you God and less of us. We want God to meet the ladies at the altar. We want Him to speak to their hearts. We want Him to do what only He can do. It's not us. It is God through us.
My prayer for you today is this. Trust God. Listen for his instruction, in the big things and in the small things. Do not fret or worry about the details of life. Instead, trust that if you have asked God to lead you, He is faithful to do it. Ask Him to remind you if you are forgetting something. He will. Ask Him to help you make decisions and to guide your steps during the day. He will be Faithful!
I Thessalonians 5:24, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (NIV)
