Around the age of 31, I found myself in a season of desperation, desolation. My daughter was born with a terminal illness, where we had been sent home on hospice from the NICU in Salt Lake City, UT. Just a few months later, on a Sunday in November, Lord led me through the doors of a building where I would find exactly what I needed to get through the season I had just entered.
It was through those doors that I found a people that knew what it meant to "be the church". A people so led by the Holy Spirit that every word spoken that day pulled me a little further out of my pit. A people that didn't just say "I will add you to my prayers", they literally stopped what they were doing to pray over me and my situation. A people so generous with hugs and the sharing of hope through the sharing of a word. A people that considered me a sister in Christ even though I had never met them before. A people who ultimately changed the course of my life and continue to be a part of it today.
These were a people who understood that the church is not a building or a routine. A people who didn't just recite what was written on the page before them. These were a people of resolve, hands lifted high in adoration and worship of the Lord. A people who had reverence and made it their business to love hard each soul that passed through the door. They taught me the joy of lingering in the pews after the service, instead of racing out the door.
You see, at this point in my life I was very much the Christian that would go to church, hear the words, sing the songs, and follow along. I would "do the thing" and leave. I had a hollow understanding of "church". It was very much a routine and very little of it would sink down from my brain to my heart. But that all changed on that Sunday in November, where the Lord met me in my despair and showed me how He loves to move in and through His people. The more I surrounded myself with these people, the more I became satisfied, fulfilled, blessed. Instead of wallowing in my despair, I found what it meant to flourish despite the circumstances. I was taught to have a two-way relationship with the Lord and to dedicate myself to my brothers and sisters. I was taught what it meant to be an active member of the church.
The author of Hebrews writes in Chapter 10, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another."
I can't emphasize enough how important meeting together is. In fact, the early church was a group of believers, where "every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house" (Acts 2:46). They modeled for us how much meeting together empowers us to walk out our lives in Christ. For me, when I meet with my brothers and sisters and allow my heart, soul, and mind to be real with the Lord, my entire being changes. I never leave the Lord's House with the same heart I had when I walked through the door.
I believe that no greater power exists on earth than that of an expectant group of people tapping into the wisdom of the Holy Spirit when they gather. An eager expectancy turns into reality. We hear God's voice. We feel His presence. Miracles happen. God's glory is always revealed. Faith is strengthened and relationships are established and maintained. Faith was never meant to be watered down or a routine. It was always meant to be about relationships; vertical (me+God) and horizontal (me+others).
So, have you found a community of believers that stokes that fire within you? How about someone that has gently blown on the embers within your soul? A community that will join you in meeting with the Lord? Do you have a family in Christ that encourages you to come in line with the Lords will in your life? Are you craving something you just can't put your finger on?
Perhaps on this day, you are in the midst of a desperate situation, undedicated to a church or a group of believers or perhaps you have a hollow faith, I like I once did. I encourage you to seek out a community that practices true fellowship and understands the church is not a building. Getting in community with a group of believers, big or small, may be exactly what you are craving. Dedicate yourself to this community of believers and let them help you find a true faith. Don't know where to start? Get brave and search out churches in your area, then go! You will know that you have found your faith family because when you walk through those doors, you will feel like you are home.
Perhaps you are reading this, and you are already a member of the body of Christ. I encourage you to "be" the church. I encourage you to use your gifts to actively come alongside those that are seeking and craving something more than what the world has to offer. Come into your family gatherings expectant to meet with the Lord and willing to share your God stories, no matter your age. Stoke the fire in someone today. Ask the Lord, how you can use your gifts and then do it! There is so much joy to experience when we "be" the church!
No matter where you are on this journey; young or old, whether you haven’t met Jesus yet or have had a relationship with Him a long time, I promise you, a different kind of Sunday exists, and you are meant to be a part of it.
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