PROXIMITY- The Year of the Lord's Favor- THURSDAY
The Year of the Lord's Favorby
Bryan Craig
THURSDAY- Comfort, Provision, Beauty, Gladness, Praise
"To comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:2b-3
I love leading Journey groups- big surprise, I know. I love watching God work in the lives of others and getting to play a small part. When I lead a Journey Group, I first pray about my Co-Guide. Then, I pray about who I should invite. The prayer goes something like this: "Lord, I want to help some men be set free. I want to help them find You and learn to abide in You so they can be filled with You. Lord, I want to see them become a positive influence with their wives and their children, in their workplace, their church and this community. Lord, show me who to invite. Lord, please help me." I can tell you that God delights in answering a prayer like that. Why? It's because these are things that are close to His heart. I then go about pursuing the men God puts on my heart, as I meet with them, give them Journey books, share my heart and ask them to consider going on a Journey to intimacy with Christ.
Then, God puts together a Journey group. It's a group of men from all different backgrounds, different ages, different perspectives, different secrets. The Spirit is calling them and drawing them into this group for a reason. Sometimes, they know exactly why it is and what they are hoping to find. Other times, they have a hunger for more of God, and they feel something is missing in their life, but they can't really put their finger on it. They come and they gather, and my Co-Guide and I do our best to serve them and show them the way, but we know the Holy Spirit is really doing all the work. He uses The Word in a huge way, but He also uses the comradery and dynamics of this particular group during this particular season of life.
God knew who needed to be in this group, for He knew the challenges they would face during the 9-month Journey, and He knew of their strongholds and insecurities and wounds. He put them together "for such a time as this." Esther 4:14 Usually, a few meetings in, I start to see why these guys and why now.
As we lead men on The Journey, we live out Isaiah 61. We see:
- Men hurting from the loss of loved ones find comfort and hope.
- Men providing for the needs of the other men in the group.
- Men, who felt like their lives were ugly and broken, finding beauty in the Lord.
- Men discovering Joy, despite their circumstances.
- Men starting to Praise God rather than curse men.
As I sit in my front-row seat and watch God miraculously work, I know I'm part of something very special. God has a front-row seat waiting for you, as well.