It was our first time in Arizona.  My family and I had stayed in Flagstaff the previous night and arose bright and early that morning for the next leg in our journey.  We had packed up the Aerostar and set out across the country, on a journey of discovery and fun.  Our daughter was 11 years old and my mom and stepfather traveled with us as well.  We can recount many memories from that trip in 2000...laughs we had, funny things we teased one another about, seeing landscapes that we had never seen before.  The beauty of New Mexico was amazing.  The heat and barrenness of the Mojave Desert were awe-inspiring.  We have talked of this trip many times over the intervening years with fond memories and laughter.  This particular day, however, stands out in my mind with special significance.

Having left I-40, we were making our way up highway 64 toward our destination.  We passed through the little town of Tusayan.  By area, it is the smallest town in the state of Arizona, with only 144 acres, or .225 square miles.  The town boasts a population, according to the 2010 census (when it was incorporated), of 562.  I mention this little town because it stands in stark contrast to the destination to which we were traveling.

As we rolled into the national park, the foliage and terrain of the area were unique in this high desert Kaibab Plateau.  Our anticipation of our destination made our hearts beat a little faster in our chests and we searched for glimpses.  Traveling along a park road, we caught a slight glimpse, but the full view of this, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, would elude us until we had disembarked from our vehicle and walked the trail among the trees.

Then it appeared.  As we approached the rim of the canyon, the immensity of this vast river gorge overwhelmed me.  My emotions caught in my throat and my eyes scanned the view to try to take it all in.  Frankly, it was difficult to fully grasp what I was seeing.  The Grand Canyon is grand indeed.  That day, as we walked along the rim, stepped out onto an observation point with a clear floor, looked into the vast 6,000+ feet drop from rim to floor, I immediately thought of the greatness of the God who created the earth.  We drove to the east, around the rim of the canyon, until we came to a place where there was an observation tower.  From that vantage point, we watched a thunderstorm, lightning and all, make its way across the canyon in the distance.  It was truly an awesome sight to see.  No words can do justice to what I experienced.  You had to be there...I was...and I worshiped.

Have you ever been in that kind of situation...an experience that was so moving and impactful in your life, but, as you tried to describe it to others, you were at a loss for words?  You have probably said, "You just had to be there."  I think I've had several of those experiences over the years.  I've found myself in experiences that have moved me to turn my eyes to the God of the universe and...worship.

• A summer Sunday evening at a small white church building in East Tennessee...a 9-year-old boy walked forward to the altar and prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior.  The pastor stood me up on the kneeling bench and asked me to tell the congregation what Jesus had just done for me.  You had to be there...I was...and I worshiped.
• Sitting on my bed in my room, as a 17-year-old boy, reading my Bible and realizing, for the first time...how real God is and that this Christian life is a living relationship between me and the Creator and Redeemer God.  You had to be there...I was...and I worshiped.
• Stepping forward in another worship service, at a church in my home town, realizing that God was calling me to a life of service in ministry.  My heart was racing as I made that step, not knowing what that fully meant for my future.  You had to be there...I was...and I worshiped.
• Attending our 1982 denominational convention in Fort Worth, Texas, as a member of a touring music group, I met up with the woman who would become my wife.  In the final worship service of that convention, we both knelt at an altar to pray, asking God whether He was calling us into foreign mission service.  We determined that all He was asking, was that we be willing to go wherever He would lead us.  We nailed down that decision that night.  You had to be there...we were...and we worshiped.
• Friday, February 24, 1989, our daughter had been born that day and I had spent all day and into the night with my wife and daughter at the hospital.  Finally, after mom and baby were asleep, I drove home around midnight.  I stopped at a traffic light and, sitting there waiting for the light to change to green, it suddenly hit me, "I'm a father!"  In that moment, I was both, overcome by gratitude, and shaken by fear of the responsibility.  You had to be there...I was...and I worshiped.
• June 27, 2014, my wife, Cindy, and I had taken the trip we had always dreamed of.  We went to Hawaii to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (a year late).  While there, we rented a Jeep and spent the day taking a drive around the perimeter of Oahu.  We visited the North Shore, the Dole Plantation, and Waimea Valley and Falls.  The mountains and seascapes were beautiful.  Our vista was breathtaking, to say the least.  As we were cruising along with the top off of the Jeep and the wind blowing through our hair, I happened to glance back over my left shoulder (Cindy usually scolds me for sightseeing while I drive) at what I thought was an interesting shoreline outcropping...however, I wasn't sure what it was.  I quickly whipped the Jeep around and made my way back through this little seaside neighborhood.  As we emerged from the houses and into a little gravel parking lot, we discovered a beautiful rocky coastline that provided a dramatic ocean view with interesting rock formations. Lāʻie Point provided an unexpected experience that caused us to be in awe of our Creator.  You had to be there...we were...we worshiped.

What do you think of when you hear the word, "Worship?"  For many, it may bring images of Sunday gatherings at church, singing in a congregation, or maybe rituals that are meaningful in turning our hearts toward God.  I would challenge you to consider a much broader and, frankly, more biblical view of worship.  The Scriptures teach us that worship begins with a presentation of ourselves to God in service...a daily abandonment of our will to His and a seeking of His will in each of the moments of our day.  The words of Romans 12:1-2 put it succinctly.. 

So...we are taught that the true way of worship is to give ourselves as an offering to God...daily.  As we do so, our "living sacrifice," made holy by the blood and sacrifice of Christ, is received by the Father as worship...the kind that really matters.  It matters because it leads us into the process of transformation...in our actions and our thinking.  It opens our hearts and minds to know and follow the perfect will of God...that which is good and pleasing to Him.  In turn, we explore the journey of His purpose in our lives and that brings great joy to us.  I know because I've been there, and I've worshiped.

So, the next time you find yourself in a place that captures your attention...something about God's creation, a critical turn in life's road, or maybe just a conversation with a friend over coffee...abandon yourself to God in that moment, worship Him, allow Him to work in you and through you to fulfill His "good and pleasing and perfect" purpose.  You will be there...and you will worship.

This morning, my wife, Cindy, and I were sitting on our patio, enjoying the morning breeze and a few minutes together before starting our day.  As we sat there, I read aloud, the first chapter of a new book written by our Teaching Pastor, Robert J. Morgan, entitled The Jordan River Rules.  We bought the book in order to read it together as a part of our devotional time.  The subtitle of the book is, "10 God-Given Strategies for Moving Forward."  The first chapter begins to unfold Rule #1:  Realize God Means for You to Move Forward.  As I read this section of the book, it quickly became apparent to us that we had lived out exactly that, about which Rob was writing.  As he discloses his transitions of life and the challenges they have presented for him, upon finishing the read, we too, began to list the changes and challenges we have experienced as a couple, over the past three years.

1. On October 1, 2017, our world came crashing down as we entered a marital crisis brought about by my disclosure of infidelity.
2. I resigned my job.
3. We entered an intensive marriage retreat and ongoing counseling.
4. We sold our home and moved into a rental house.
5. We found a new church where we could start our healing.
6. I searched for a new job.
7. God opened the door for a new job for me.
8. We moved to a new city.
9. We found a new home to rent.
10. We found a new community of faith.
11. My wife found a job that was an intense challenge for 6 months.
12. My wife returned to a teaching job she loves.
13. Our daughter was married.
14. We became grandparents.
15. We bought a home.

To say the least, these fifteen changes that took place over the period of three years were extremely impactful.  Every one of them, most of which were challenging, and some which had the potential to destroy life as we knew it, included the most difficult things Cindy and I would ever face.  The words of God, spoken to Joshua, remind us that these challenges and changes, while difficult and potentially devastating, were opportunities for us to experience the leadership and powerful grace of our Lord.

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
                                                     Joshua 1:1-5

Pastor Morgan instructs us that God leads us in stages, in steps and in person.  Cindy and I certain have experienced that truth over these past few years.  Frankly, we've seen it over the course of our lives, but most intensely in this small sub-section of our journey together.  He led us into the stage of relocation and new connection with a community of faith.  He led us step-by-step, as we placed all of our trust in His faithful guidance and provision through very uncertain times.  He led us in person, as we worshipped and spent time before him in prayer and spiritual communion.  The bottom line...He was faithful...and continues to be.  Like his words to Joshua, He promised, "...I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."  God is faithful.  When you face the most difficult and potentially devastating moments of your life, God is there in the midst of it, and He has promised to lead you into the next season...He will never forsake you.

We laid everything in God's hands.  We abandoned our solutions and our expectations and learned to trust God on a level we had never done so before.  When you have everything you've come to lean upon and expect as the norm, taken away from you, the realization becomes clear that God is the only faithful rock upon which you can depend.  In those early weeks of the "new norm," Cindy and I adopted the hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" as our theme.  We determined that we would start each day in prayer, even before rising from our bed, and we would sing that hymn together, tears filling our eyes.  It wasn't just empty words...it was the truth we were living each day.  We were trusting the One who was faithful to meet our every need and lead us to the next step in His plan.  Were we in this situation because my own making?  Yes.  But that didn't stop God from having a plan for us, despite that reality.  All we had to do was trust Him and let Him take the lead.  He was faithful and He remains so unto this day.

The closing paragraph in that section of Rob Morgan's book says it well:
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Prepare for what God is preparing for you.  Your next stage in life is God-planned.  The One who knows the way through the wilderness also knows the way into the Promised Land.

How has God shown His faithfulness to you?  What wilderness has He led you through?  Maybe you find yourself in a valley now and need to trust the faithfulness of the Savior.  Comment your experiences and even ask for prayer, if needed.  Share the post as well, to encourage others to join the conversation.