Greatness

“This is how God works. He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.”

 - Radical by David Platt

The moment that I read this quote, my brain was working overtime, trying to decide which story to share, trying to come up with the most amazing, fishes and loaves type experience to describe, but, instead, I came back, over and over again, to my eighth grade ministry trip.

We didn't go anywhere special. Literally, I spent most of the trip in my hometown. When we weren't there, we were the next city over.

I can't say that anything hugely impressive happened.

We were just there.

But, looking back, there is the same sense of God being on that trip that there was while we were actually on that trip, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because, when you're desperate for his power, ALL provision displays His greatness.

He provided the ability to interact like a (giant) family, and we saw that He was great.

He provided wind (literal and spiritual) that tested what we had built our foundation on, and we saw that He was great.

We noticed His greatness when the weather held for just long enough to pack up a block party and while we were painting buildings and cleaning out freezers and holding free car washes.

He was great when we only flushed toilets after number two and when we took turns sitting at the nursery sized table during meals because there weren't enough folding chairs or full-sized table space for all of us.

We wanted to see Him move, with every ounce of passion that a middle schooler can muster (which is quite a stinking bit), and so, every new breath that He provided proved His greatness.