I Saw God.

I saw God tonight. I saw Him in the face of a child, a teenager. I have been praying for this young woman, probably not as much as I should have prayed. Certainly not as much as I could have prayed. But when I prayed, I prayed hard.

I have seen her before; hardened, angry, rebellious, and a lost cause by most standards. I heard people call her a lost cause. I saw people stop trying to teach her, change her, because it seemed she would never change.

But I saw God tonight. . . in her.

She has been gone for a while. She has actually been at a facility to help her escape the wreck of a life she had created. While she has been away, there have been times of hope and times of desperation; nights of literal crying out to God in Jesus' Name for a miraculous beat-down of the demons invading this young woman's life.

Why am I so surprised God has the victory in this? The battle is not over, but I saw a picture of her tonight. She shines peace, hope, and GOD. My entire body chilled as I saw the face of a person who's ashes were being replaced by beauty. I knew God could do this -- ONLY God could do this, but at the same time, I am in awe of what He did. Is that because I didn't really believe He could do it?

I often find myself in awe of God's miracles even though I pray for them. I don't think it is just because of the miracles. It is because of the AWE-some way God works. It is so far beyond what I thought. In this case, there was so much that needed to change, so many demons to conquer, so much to be learned. God did all of it so quickly and thoroughly. My human brain just can't comprehend the hugeness of it all. It is AWE-some.

It leads me to think about so many other things.
1. I need to think bigger -- GOD-sized bigger.

2. I should work harder. If I am supposed to be working as if for God and not for people (Colossians 3:23), I need to remember that God works with AWE-some standards. It is a privilege to know that God wants to work in AWE-some ways through me. I need to open myself up to the potential.

3. I want people to see God in me. Lately, I think people have mostly seen exhaustion when they have seen my face. Moses used to put a veil over his face after he met with God because his face radiated God. It was a sight that could not be dismissed. I have wondered, too, if Moses wore the veil so people wouldn't notice the radiance fading when he had been away from God for a while. I want to radiate God in a way that cannot be dismissed.

I want to be like this young woman. I looked at her face and I saw God.

You don't know this girl or her family, but would you please pray for them? Pray for God to continue to change her and grow her family in their relationships with God and with one another. Pray God receives all the glory for this, rather than a program, counselor, intercessor, or even an incredible parent who has gone to great lengths to pursue healing in her daughter's life.