At the Vineyard we are putting in a new sound board and a couple new projection devices that require new cables and some wiring. In order to pull the new cables from the sound booth to the stage at the front of the church it was necessary to get under our stage. Yesterday we cut a 1 foot by 1 foot access in our storage closet and discovered space under the stage with about 9 1/2 inches of clearance. Somebody needed to get in there and crawl the 10 plus feet to the other side of the stage. Enter the skinny guy! Well I worked my way in feet first and begin a very uncomfortable "slide" under the stage. I had a headlamp but because i couldn't lift my head I was unable to look ahead to where I was going. As I crunched 20 year old dead cockroaches under my back I kept wondering if some angry animal might be looking at my feet boxing him in to a corner. Not only that but my legs kept catching on various braces and once, when attempting to roll over I became a bit stuck!
Proverbs 4:12 says this of those who follow the ways of wisdom,
"when you walk (or crawl) your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble." Life can be difficult enough, it is hard to imagine moving through the events and experiences of our day without the Lord making a way, without Him first going before us to clear away the hindrances that we could never overcome on our own.
Today - it turns out - we needed to run an electrical wire and again it required a trip under the stage. This time I arrived equipped with a strong utility light. As I dragged the light along, the entire under stage area was lit up. No animals, nothing unexpected and the whole journey - which still was not very easy - had a very different feel to it.
Proverbs 4:18 says that
"the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day, but the way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." I love the picture of darkness slowly, little by little, giving way to the light and the light gets brighter and brighter as the Lord leads us forward. Where does that light come from? I believe it comes through the Spirit, through God's Word as we feast on it, through one another as we encourage each other along, and through our offerings of worship. ( I am reminded of Paul singing in a jail cell) Because we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ we can count on Him to light our way.
Proverbs 4:18 says that "the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day, but the way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." I love the picture of darkness slowly, little by little, giving way to the light and the light gets brighter and brighter as the Lord leads us forward. Where does that light come from? I believe it comes through the Spirit, through God's Word as we feast on it, through one another as we encourage each other along, and through our offerings of worship. ( I am reminded of Paul singing in a jail cell) Because we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ we can count on Him to light our way.
I remember years ago you were peaching and somehow got into the story of you as a kid crawling in the caves. it made my skin tingle then and this 'stage' story did it again. i hate confined places and have had dreams of being 'almost stuck' in a variety of places.
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