ElePHPant Haven

At Cutting Edge, every leader had to give a testimony to the assembled masses. In typical fashion, I write some notes, read them sometimes and made more up. I feel like sharing with the internets as well.

My notes were:

I'm rather socially inept and can't really talk to people I don't know unless I'm around people that I'm comfortable talking to. God knows this and arranged things so I would still get to know him through awesome people that I normally would have no intention of getting to know.

Just under four years ago, I was invited to the All Saints' youth group. All I knew about it was that Joe McMenamin ran it and my eldest brother got him to invite me. For some reason, I decided to go to the first night and see how it went. I was expecting to not know anyone there, have no idea what was going on and not come back. God had a different plan.

Outside Joe's house, I saw Matthew. I have known Matthew longer than I can remember, so that was rather helpful. But one person still isn't enough for me to be comfortable in a room full of strangers. Upon going inside, the first person I saw as Ash. Due to him being a friend of my eldest brother, I kinda knew him as well. Only recently, I realised that God ensured that they would be there so I would enjoy myself and keep coming back. Which I did.

7 months later, Ben ran a service that allowed us to reflect on God, One way was with verses from the bible. The one I ended up getting was Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light

Due to having no idea on how to talk to people confidently, I carried a lot by myself. This verse made me realise that carrying all the extra weight was pointless and I should hand it over to God. So I gave my life to him and let him help me through my troubles.

Over the last three years, God has been great in helping me through rough patches and developing my character. As such, I have started caring for other people and have been carrying a much smaller burden.

Now, the most stressed I get happened last night when the power came back on just before the session started and I had to get everything back up and working, especially since the speakers had been replaced just before the power went out and I though I may have blown the fuse in the amps.

As it says in Nehemiah 8:10:

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

So my message to you is that God knows you and will arrange things specifically for you, so that you'll get to know his love more and that he is steadfast and wanting to help you through anything.