This past Monday our Student Pastor, John , and I went to lunch at a Japanese steakhouse. We do this for the sushi. John is one of the few people I eat with regularly who actually enjoys sushi. On this particular day, this particular restaurant was packed with middle school aged kids. They were all seated around the hibachi grills, ready for the action to begin.
We sat at a table in a different part of the restaurant, but we could still see, smell, and hear what was happening around the grills. As we ate our sushi, we were startled by outbursts of clapping, ooh-ing, and ah-ing. Finally, at one point in the meal, the chef created the BIG flame. And the kiddos went nuts! They were amazed. They were smiling from ear to ear, pointing and talking about how “cool” this experience was.
As I sat there, half-eating, half- watching, I was reminded of the scripture that we looked at this past Sunday at MCC.
This man Jacob has a dream in which God speaks to him. God promises to bless and guide and care for him. And when Jacob wakes up from his sleep he says,
“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Jacob wakes up to a God who is already present, already active, already at work.
And he is amazed that he’s just waking up to the God who has always been there.
As we finished up our lunch I kept thinking about the wonder and amazement those kids had experienced.
And I wondered, “When was the last time that I had that kind of wonder and amazement about who God is and what he’s doing?”
The truth is lots of us are asleep. And we need these holy, sacred moments at a Japanese steakhouse to remind us who God is and what he’s doing in us and around us and through us.
How amazing. How wonderful. How present.
Do you have a story like Jacob’s? A story of waking up to the God who is already present and active in your life?
Josh Scott 