GOD IS BIGGER THAN IT ALL

Colin Finnegan (Sarasota, FL)

I just got back from another Encounter, this time as a server. It was similar to my Encounter, but serving added a whole new dynamic - a joy and fulfillment that I had never felt before. A lot happened. It was very exciting, moving and strengthening all at the same time. God was there. And He was moving. Many men were changed. Addictions broken. Guilt released and put to death. Relationships restored. And we even saw some miracles. There was one guy named Bryant, who I prayed for. I was praying for Jim in his left ear and he kept turning his head back and forth, struggling to hear me. By the end I was shouting like a southern preacher and people around me shouted "AMEN!"

By the end of the weekend, God restored his hearing! Also, Steve, the father of my good friend Jake, went to the Encounter with two damaged vertebrae in his neck from a tree-to-head accident when he was in his twenties. He was obviously in a lot of pain, so much so that for over twenty years, he was unable to lift his arms past his shoulders. I guess God wanted his hands up when he praised, so by the end Steve's arms were raised to Heaven with the pain gone. Praise God.

By far the most exciting, rewarding story came from a quiet, timid young teenager, with long black hair that covered his face. His name was Charlie, and after hearing several people speak, I didn't know what to expect when he stood up. He was very slow and careful in his speech, holding back a lot of pain you could see he had been through. He told us a story of a young boy, who looked up to his older brother immensely, even while his brother was selling, handling, and using drugs around him. He described long nights of drinking and doing hard drugs, feeling his insides literally melting away as he pumped them full of these poisons.

 
One night, he said, he passed out on his couch while on hallucinogens and alcohol, and woke up to the sound of a heart monitor, bright fluorescent lights in his eyes, and a frantic doctor thinking he wasn't going to live. He said he went into a deep sleep, and heard the audible voice of God telling him to stop all the drugs and drinking at that moment, or he would die and spend eternity separated from Him in the Devil's hell.

Charlie came back from what should have been overdose and alcohol poisoning to stun everyone around him, and it wasn't even a month later when his mom sent him from Virginia all the way down here to Sarasota, FL for this divine appointment called an Encounter. I praised God for Charlie, and it was a sobering reality when Pastor Vin said to all of us "This is why we do this. Because there are a million more Charlies out there, dying everyday without the hope of knowing Jesus Christ." It becomes very real when you have someone standing before you who has literally been on hell's doorstep and gotten a second chance at life. God must have an amazing plan for him. Praise God for His mercy!

The Encounter was different in some ways for me because, the first time I went in Sep. 2006, I felt so different. Everything was different. My relationship with Christ was different, my relationship with others was different. I felt like I had to put on an act in front of people, especially other Christians. I wanted what they had--or what it looked like they had, what it felt like they had. I wanted that passion, that desire for Christ. I wanted to be able to make a huge impact in the lives of others by my natural joy in Christ, but the joy just wasn't there. I didn't know how to receive it.

Now that I've experienced it, I realize that real joy is always there-- available to everyone-- if they spend time in praise, prayer, and intimacy with God. Though I still have my problems, and situations that I don't like, I now can rest on the fact that, no matter where I am or what's going on in my life, God is bigger than it all. In the midst of despair I can seek Him and His peace, reminding myself of the unconditional love He has for me, and that He is with me through everything life may throw my way.

And most of all, no matter how hard it gets, I can do nothing but praise His when I think of the awesome promise I have of eternal life with Him in Heaven when this life disappears. Thank you, God!  It is God alone who keeps me going, who gives me true joy, peace, love, and patience.

And it was through the Encounter that He taught me how to experience Him and receive His joy. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world, and in Heaven. I can't wait to serve again in the next Encounter, and to continue to grow in my relationship with Christ. It is the greatest privilege and joy to watch others "Encounter" our very real, very loving, and very AWESOME GOD!