To find out one small reason why God is infinitely more astounding than OK Go, keep reading.
Remember this post about Sam taking me to Half-Price Books? We bought six of John Piper's Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (also titled The Passion of Jesus Christ). That was just enough, plus one extra, for each of the high school guys in our youth group to have a copy to work through during our 6:30am Thursday morning Bible studies we are starting this week. (I ask for your prayers for that, by the way!)
I thought we would try going through the book (we're also studying Hebrews) with just the guys. If it was good, I'd buy a few more copies and have Sam lead the girls through it, too. When I mentioned this off hand to our pastor, he said he had a few more copies he could give me so the girls could start studying it right away. Unfortunately, his copies plus my copies left me four copies short of what we needed for everyone to get one.
For the last two weeks, I've been looking for cheap copies online but I haven't been able to find them in bulk for a reasonable price. As I continued searching for cheap copies, I felt increasingly convicted that we need to be studying this book as an entire youth group. I kept feeling like God wanted to use this book to change my heart and my view of Him, as well has the hearts of the students in the youth group. But I still didn't have enough books, and our study starts in less than a week.
Yesterday, God blew me away. After youth group, Sam and I walked over to the main church building for congregational meeting. As we came around the south corner of the building, a woman from the church got out of her car and walked up to us.
"Do you have any use for these in the youth group?" she asked me, as she handed me FOUR copies of Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper!!!
My jaw hung open for several seconds.
"How did you know we needed those?" I asked her.
She explained that she had no idea we needed them. In fact, she found them on a bookshelf in her home and decided to bring them to the church library where they would get some use.
"I was just going to give them to the library," she told us, "if you two hadn't come around the corner just as I was getting out of my car, I never would have thought to ask if you could use them!"
It's not astounding that the Creator of the Universe is astounding. That makes sense. Of course He is astounding. He defines astounding. He knows us and our needs. And He provides for them, big or small, according to His perfect timing and will.
God is on board with this Bible study. In truth, He is the one leading it. Please pray for me and for Sam that we will be blessed with insight and humility as God leads us to unpack the truths in Hebrews to our high schoolers. Pray also for the kids, that their hearts will be like soft clay in the Potter's hands.
Finally, praise God for His provision in the tiny details of our lives and our ministries. May He be glorified above all things in both.
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