40,000 Jesus Freaks
"ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How much longer? Are we there yet? No parking place! Oh no, we can't take our drinks in! Look at the line for the bathroom! It is so hot!"
Saturday we took a little journey to Birmingham. The "we" was me, my two sons, their girlfriends, and my four grandsons. No, we didn't all fit in one car and yes, our two cars did pass each other about 135 times as we traveled the 135 miles down 78. Stadiumfest is an annual event that I had not heard of until a couple of weeks ago. Evangelist Scott Dawson organized this huge undertaking which brought many well known Christian bands to Birmingham. Casting Crowns from Atlanta led everyone in worship as the sun was setting on the Spain Park Stadium. The main draw of the event for most was the Jesus Freak himself, Toby Mac, who I and my sons have seen at various worship events over the last fifteen years or so. However, this was the first worship event that we all attended together.
The way the event was set up in the stadium was speaker - singer, speaker - singer, speaker - singer, from 3 in the afternoon all the way till the fireworks show at 10. Each speaker had their own style and message, just as each singer had their own style and song. As I stood in the diverse crowd of 40,000 worshiping with hands lifted high singing "Voice of Truth" with Casting Crowns I felt small, yet powerful at the same time. God saw each hand and heard each voice declaring that we would choose to listen and believe His voice. In front of me was my 21-year-old holding the 8-year-old in his arms so he could see the stage. Behind me was my 33-year-old holding the 6-year-old grandson on his shoulders. To my left was my fourteen-year-old grandson and to my right the eleven-year-old. Each one had their hands lifted in worship to God who is the Truth. At that moment I saw prayers answered all around me. This was worth every inconvenience the day had brought my way. My two oldest grandsons, Clay and Hunter, both made decisions to choose to follow Christ.
Life is hard here a lot of days. We all go through trials and tribulations that sometimes seem to be more than we can bear. But God always gives us the strength to keep on putting one foot in front of the other. There have been times I have felt my faith faltering and listened to the lie of the enemy that being a "Jesus Freak" is just wasting my time. In those times the Voice of Truth has always spoken louder than the voice of deceit and I have pressed on. I believe as long as we continue to seek God and His Kingdom first so much more will be added to our lives. God gives so many wonderful rewards as we journey on each day. Saturday God took the time to surround me with answered prayers. In the crowd, I felt so small, yet at the same time so special to God. He loves me!
Today as you are on your journey make sure to choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth. Being a Jesus Freak is very rewarding.
jbp