Have you ever had a moment in life that took your breath away? A moment that you have to keep replaying in your mind over and over again just to try to comprehend the awesomeness of it? I had one of those moments June 18, 2011 at 197 Langtree Road in Mooresville, NC.
I had the awesome opportunity to join forces with Pastor Mike Madding at The Cove Church to bring the message. I will have to share in the future how this all came about but right now I want to share the very real way God showed up. The topic of the message was Moses and the burning bush. God spoke to Moses through the burning bush. He spoke to me through a power outage.
I knew about the speaking opportunity coming up for a couple weeks. I have done this before and but this time it would be different. This was going to be much much larger assignment. 4 services, 4000 people or more, live cast to 2 satellite churches, lighting, cameras, microphones. I have to admit that I was a bit freaked out over all the media. But I pressed forward through the nervousness because I knew that God was calling me to do this.
I got to church 2 hours early to rehearse and go through sound and lighting checks. It was sunny when I got there. Windows line the two side walls of the auditorium. The shades are always drawn for the services for the use of media. But for the first time in the 12 year history of the Cove Church Pastor Mike asked for the shades to be raised. You may wonder why I am mentioning this little tidbit but it is important little fact to hear to understand the rest of my blog message.
I was backstage listening to Mike's message and suddenly 2/3 of the way into his sermon, the power goes completely out. Panic set in at first as I deliberated on how I would speak to an auditorium of people with no mic? How would I glance at my notes on a dark stage? But that panic was very short lived. Suddenly I felt God say to me, "Patti I am here." So immediately I felt God's presence and His peace. It was then my moment to go out on stage . Because the shades had been left up, I could easily see and make my way onto the stage. And I spoke my whole message without a microphone. And my voice carried to the back row of this very large auditorium. I keep thinking about this. In fact I cannot keep from pondering it. I did not speak any louder than usual. My husband was in the very back row and he said he heard me perfectly, even better than he heard the pastor. How? Only God. There is no other explanation. He made my voice carry to the back of the auditorium. Wow! The power outage changed the whole atmosphere. It really calmed me and it was like speaking to friends in a big living room. I have no doubt, and my pastor said the same thing, that God showed up and intervened on my behalf. He knew that all the media was making me nervous so He took care of it for my first time out. He brought a sudden storm, knocked out the power, had Mike decide before the service to lift the shades, and made my voice carry. No way was this all coincidental. Pastor Mike said never before had they had the service with the shades up, and never before has The Cove Church lost power for a service.
People have been contacting me since and telling me that they have never experienced the presence of God so much as in that Saturday evening service. God showed up in a very real, practical way. And once you have experienced God in such a real personal way, it is hard to remain unchanged. I am in awe that He would even choose to use me. And then more in awe of how He concerns Himself with every detail and concern I have and He came down to show Himself to me and to to the others who were there. I truly felt as if I was treading on holy ground.
We had power for the other 3 services the next day by the way. They all went well but I will never forget this Saturday evening service when He showed up and His light shone when all else failed.
Thank You God for gracing us with Your Presence.
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