Rhythm

(OK, there should be a really cool picture of an awesome set of conga drums and other percussion instruments right here but I can’t get Blogger to let me upload it... grrr… I’m too tired to mess with it so just use your imagination)

OK, it’s almost 3:30 AM, I can’t sleep, I haven’t blogged in days and I’m rambling…

I’m a musician. I’ve owned a beautiful 12 String Ovation Elite for since July 15, 1988. I still have the receipt, I don’t know why, but I do. Before I learned to play guitar (about 25 years ago) I played percussion instruments, especially conga drums. I still do (Eric: thanks for letting me play with your toys!) I’ve been told that I play the guitar like it was a percussion instrument. I was born with an innate sense of rhythm, it’s always been there.

Vacation has a way of getting you out of sync, out of rhythm. That has certainly been the case for me. We arrived home from our Alaskan cruise last Friday and I have been trying to get back into my normal rhythm ever since. The absence of a blog entry is evidence of the fact.

I’ve often shared with my people that I have three personal passions. (Does everything have to come in threes for pastors?) 1 - I want to know God intimately and personally. 2 - I want to live a supernatural life in the power of the Holy Spirit. And 3 – I want to train and equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. I learned some interesting lessons about my second passion while cruising Alaska.

For the last four years I have been asking the Lord to increase my spiritual sensitivities. Jesus said that he did only what he saw the Father doing. I want to see what the Father is doing as well… see and hear and feel and perceive. Graciously, little by little, God has been granting my request. It has made life and ministry more exciting and dynamic. It’s returned mystery back to my faith.

While on the cruise last week I realized how much I had changed over the last four years. We cruised to Alaska four years ago and enjoyed it so much we returned to celebrate our 25th anniversary. While onboard this time I found myself overwhelmed. I was experiencing a spiritual sensitivity overload. There were so many wounded and hurting people onboard that ship and it seemed as if I was literarily feeling their pain. It was unexpected and increased slowly over the first three or four days. At one point I was alone at the back of the ship crying out to God asking him what was going on. At the Holy Spirit’s leading I began to pray for the other passengers and prophesy over the land. Only then did the heaviness start to lift. I realized that I have so much more to learn about walking in the Spirit and living a supernatural life.

The past few days have been a rush to regain my personal rhythm… my tempo is slowly returning to it’s usual beat…

One last thing, God has been dealing with people’s stuff, you know, sin, strongholds, opinions, offenses… stuff. I’m convinced he’s getting us ready, preparing us for the next phase of the journey. He’s revealing our stuff to remove it; we can’t take it with us where he’s leading.

OK, enough said, it’s time for bed.

Copyright © Tom Zawacki 2006