The worship this morning was spectacular. Perhaps it's because we've been coming into the temple day after day after day, continually worshipping the Lord, seeking His face, hearing His Word preached and believing for The Holy Spirit to minister to us. Whenever we leave, we go home to the house and simply gather around together there and pray, worship and testify some more. We go to sleep FULL. We wake up FULL. And before we know it, we are back in the House of the Lord for more.
As FULL as we all may be, I am still quite hungry for the Lord. I'm here in Georgia to meet with God. I've left all the distractions behind. There's no phone calls, no classes, no appointments, no errands, no walking the dog, no "other" things. It's all about God here. That's why I came.
This Christian Retreat is a time set aside for me
to withdraw from my daily routine and environment,
and focus my attention, my thoughts, my actions,
and my time... totally on God.
As the music started this morning, I lifted my hands, closed my eyes and sang my heart out unto the Lord. Something was different. The whole area in front of me, from the front row to the altar seemed electrically charged.
Earlier this morning I had taken my first shower while I've been here. The hot water felt so good as it poured down onto my face. Here, in the church, something else was showering down upon me. Could it be the Glory of God? It was wonderfully refreshing. It was like raindrops of glory coming down from the heavens and falling right upon me.
Earlier this morning I had taken my first shower while I've been here. The hot water felt so good as it poured down onto my face. Here, in the church, something else was showering down upon me. Could it be the Glory of God? It was wonderfully refreshing. It was like raindrops of glory coming down from the heavens and falling right upon me.
In front of me, on the platform were the musicians. A new friend of mine was sitting up there playing the flute. She had twisted her ankle right before the service began, so she was unable to stand. To the left of me, at the other end of the aisle, were my Florida friends. They were worshipping and clapping with great joy. My pal, who had wondered about Pentecostal churches, smiled at me as she waved a bright pink flag, back and forth, back and forth. Bonnie was to my immediate left. She was just having an awesome time of worship.
In front of me... there was a big open space. No one was there. Usually people came forward during the worship. This morning, there were only two flag wavers. Hmmm. I was so FULL of that glory. My heart seemed filled with utter delight. Then the musicians began to sing "The Happy Song." That's my song! That's the song I dance to in my living room. A thought crossed my mind...
"I suppose I could just step out there,
in that big open space,
and have a fine dance before the Lord."
The glory continued to fall upon me. I looked up again at my dear friend, playing the flute, who couldn't even stand up.
"Perhaps I could dance for the both of us,"
I contemplated.
Bonnie was doing her "Swishhhh" thing. I can't even tell you what that is. It's indescribable. But she does it when God is really moving on her heart! It's a sound she makes that reminds me of a gust of wind.
I opened my eyes just enough to peek out. That space was still there -- wide open. It felt like electricity was moving through my legs. What a weird feeling. The tops of my legs were like jello. Just standing there singing, I was a bit wobbly. Perhaps it was due to my RED high heels?
So that's exactly what I did. I gently stepped out of my Ruby Reds... and pushed them under my seat with my toes. Just then that little voice in my mind went wild.
"You know... if you don't step out there now, you're gonna miss out. How often do you even get the opportunity to just dance before The Lord in church... especially with all this open space. Go for it! Go on! You know you want to! Go now!"
"I wouldn't be able to dance with these shoes on."
I thought. "I'd be down, in a second, on the floor.
But I could just kick my off my shoes
and push them under my chair.
Why not? No one would even notice."
So that's exactly what I did. I gently stepped out of my Ruby Reds... and pushed them under my seat with my toes. Just then that little voice in my mind went wild.
"You know... if you don't step out there now, you're gonna miss out. How often do you even get the opportunity to just dance before The Lord in church... especially with all this open space. Go for it! Go on! You know you want to! Go now!"
"Why not?" I thought.
"Why not now?"
and out I went.
I was a bit wobbly right from the start.
I guess it wasn't the heels. LOL.
No matter... I stomped my feet, jumped up and down, twirled around and around, and soared like an eagle. It was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it and I think God did too. Who knows a few onlookers might have gotten a chuckle out of it.
There's nothing like a good laugh mixed with the Holy Ghost. I've done that myself. That's when you start laughing because you know the person you're watching would never be part of such a public display on their own. You know that you know that you know... that it's a God thing -- Joy Unspeakable bubbles up from your belly. You can't help yourself. You start laughing, and that makes the glory fall all the more! That's how people get swept away in the glory. They witness an unexpected manifestation of God on someone they know... and it's over. They are blown away in the glory. And all they were doing was watching. It's a glorious thing!!!
After that song, we sang a beautiful chorus called "Shikinah Glory."
"Release the fullness of Your Spirit.
You know... the funniest thing happened. The Glory of God was so present that when I opened my eyes, I could of swore that I saw angels... all over the place. That open area that I talked about earlier was now filled with people... but stuffed in amongst all the people, as well as on the platform, and even throughout all the seats in the sanctuary were angels galore. I remember thinking that there was more angels in the sanctuary than people. I don't quite know how to explain to you what that looks like. It's like you see this heavenly realm of angels, super-imposed over the earthly realm of people. Everyone - People and Angels -- was crowded into Glory Tabernacle and it was AWESOME! Of course I didn't tell anyone that! That is until I heard several women at the house talking about how they saw angels all over the sanctuary. I guess I wasn't the only one!
"We wait for You.
We wait for You.
We wait for You.
To walk in the room."
"Here we are, standing in your presence.
Here we are, standing in your presence.
Shikinah Glory come down.
Shikinah Glory come down."
Shikinah Glory come.
Shikinah Glory come.
We want more. We want more.
We want more. We want more.
We want more. We want more
More of Your Spirit.
The Lord has given us freedom, given us freedom , given us joy!
The Lord has given us freedom, given us freedom, given us joy!
Lord I can't get enough of your presence.
I said I can't get enough of your presence.
I said I can't get get enough of your presence.
I can't get enough... Can't get enough.
One of the things that I love about old time Pentecostal churches is that they will sing and sing and sing a chorus until everyone pretty much knows all the words by heart. We must have sung this song for twenty minutes or longer. It was great! I just stood at the front, eyes closed, hands raised to God, swaying back and forth to the music as I sang whole-heartedly unto the Lord.
You know... the funniest thing happened. The Glory of God was so present that when I opened my eyes, I could of swore that I saw angels... all over the place. That open area that I talked about earlier was now filled with people... but stuffed in amongst all the people, as well as on the platform, and even throughout all the seats in the sanctuary were angels galore. I remember thinking that there was more angels in the sanctuary than people. I don't quite know how to explain to you what that looks like. It's like you see this heavenly realm of angels, super-imposed over the earthly realm of people. Everyone - People and Angels -- was crowded into Glory Tabernacle and it was AWESOME! Of course I didn't tell anyone that! That is until I heard several women at the house talking about how they saw angels all over the sanctuary. I guess I wasn't the only one!
I know that you might think that this is a little much. I don't expect you to fully get it because you weren't there. Just know that glorious things happen when you hunger and search after God. He will be found. Perhaps one day you'll have your own Glory stories.
Twirling in RED shoes,
Gail
