Happy New Year from WRD! When You're Thirsty and You Don't Know Why...
“Please, God…” I paused my silent prayer and cleared my throat, momentarily unsure of what to ask for, “…please just break my heart in front of these people, I guess.”
I was minutes away from stepping out of the shadows and into the brightly defined circle of the stage spotlight.
And I was suddenly, inexplicably, very thirsty.
It was an unusual finish to an unusual year - I was stepping on to a newly constructed stage in a large meeting room in my home church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa - for the fifth time this week.
All of this may sound pretty ordinary, but here’s the back-story:
The stage was new because four months ago, a “land-hurricane” had devastated our church’s main meeting hall, shredding it in such a dramatic fashion that pictures of the building had been front-and-center in many news reports about the storm. Our own home had also been seriously damage, but after more than a month of hard work, it was fully repaired. The large church building would take a lot longer to rebuild, so meetings were currently being held in a remodeled interior room until the construction was completed.
It was my fifth time on stage this week because the smaller room and Covid-19 restrictions had forced the church to begin holding more - and smaller - services to accommodate social distancing guidelines. In the last few days, they had held two regular Sunday services and three Christmas Eve events. Honestly, we were just thankful for the freedom to meet in person.
And it was ME stepping onto the stage because I was actually in town this year - we weren’t traveling overseas like we usually are. After a year of limited international performance opportunities, we had leapt at the opportunity to perform at these local Christmas Eve events, and then I had scrambled for a week (like I do every year) to re-learn the surprisingly counter-intuitive chords to a handful of popular Christmas standards.
An unusual finish to an unusual year.
Now I was about to step out in front of a room full of people who had just endured a year of turmoil, loss, and confusion.
And all I could think about was the fact that I was really thirsty.
To be fair, though, I was REALLY thirsty.
Like, “I wonder if I might pass out if I stand up,” thirsty.
I licked my dry lips and glanced around the stage, looking for water, fighting a wave of dizziness.
This didn’t make sense - why was I suddenly, frantically parched? Had the bitter cold of the Midwestern winter dehydrated me? Were my dietary or sleep choices affecting my body? What was going on?
I spotted a styrofoam cup of lukewarm water and snatched it up, gulping it like I had been stranded in the desert for weeks.
My body’s reaction to the drink was instantaneous - I could feel my strength and stability returning.
And then I had a thought.
What if God - the God who created every atom and molecule in my body - had ALLOWED my to feel a moment of frantic, parched thirst?
What if He was trying to show me something?
What if He was trying to show me that this crazy, unpredictable, scary, disconnected year had left millions of people all over the world deeply and profoundly THIRSTY?
The lights and music changed and the spotlight switched on and I rose to my feet, stepping in to the light.
“I wasn’t planning to talk about this tonight, but I think that 2020 has left a lot of us feeling…” the words caught in my throat and I paused to wipe my eyes with my sleeve, “…really, really THIRSTY - like there’s an ache inside that needs to be filled. And Jesus is saying “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.” (Matt 11:28-30)
I stood and spoke and cried - many of us did..
And then invited people to respond - and many of us did, saying “yes” to Jesus.
At this moment, all around the world, people are THIRSTY, and Jesus is calling to the people that He desperately loves: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37)
And this is why we do what we do.
This is the message…
Haven’t seen “THE SCANDAL” yet? Take a few minutes to check out one of the most important videos we’ve ever made…
More. Committed. Than. Ever.
2020 has been a year of incredible challenges, but we are more convinced than ever that Jesus is STILL the answer.
We've had to reschedule many of our upcoming outreaches (Zambia, India, and Haiti) until early next year, but we're still committed to the goal of reaching as many people as possible in every nation with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ and we’re excited to report that things are SLOWLY STARTING TO OPEN UP!
We’ve been offered a few opportunities to share the message of Jesus in live venues across the United States over the next few months, and we are asking that God would move powerfully in these events and draw many people to Himself.
We’ve also been using this time to create content designed to introduce people to the love and message of Jesus. This is the goal of every song, blog, podcast, and video that we produce, so please feel free to use our content as a resource if you know someone who needs to hear this message.
If you'd like to help us share the love of Jesus in 2021 with a tax-deductible monthly donation or a one-time gift, simply click the link below for more information. We're deeply thankful for you, friends!