I must confess that I am a busy body. I like to see things done and I want them to be done well. Sometimes I can teach you and coach you through it; but then there are other times when no one else is available and I have to do it myself. Because I've done it once, the next time when that situation rolls around, I just handle it without looking for a relief person. I've got to get better at delegating responsibilities. Ha!
I'm on Day 3 of the Cleanse and I have been reflective and open to hearing God's voice for the past 2 days. I'm reading a book by Austin Channing Brown, "I'm Still Here Black Dignity in a World made for Whiteness". When I say it is FIYAH....I mean it will set you ablaze when she talks about how black women have to navigate white spaces. It is so good..... that I talked to both Chandler and Courtland this morning and told them that I will download it on their Nook. It speaks to both their private and public educational experiences. As they are growing up in a world that oftentimes demonizes black men, I want them to have the language to express and the capability to navigate the many all- white spaces in which they will find themselves. Did I say it is FIYAH? But something else spoke to me while reading this book.
I have a preacher friend in Memphis who messages me periodically about answering "the call". She and I had the opportunity to minister at a women's conference in Canada a few years ago. I was the only one out of the facilitators who was not a licensed preacher. Oh she messed with me something terrible! I told her that I KNOW that I've been called by God, but maybe just not to preach. (insert her pursed lips and rolling of the eyes) And just 2 years ago, another preacher friend, this one from New York, told me to stop saying what God hasn't done and just be open to what God wants to do through me. Okay, okay.....I'm still not thinking that I will go the traditional route, but I am very aware of God's power and His ability to use me in whatever arena I may find myself. Whether I am standing behind a church podium, a college lecture hall, a coffee shop or out working in the community, I am answering " the call" to be God's mouthpiece and the extension of his loving arms at the moment. Wherever God sends me, I can weave my blackness and my spirituality into one and speak truth to power to liberate others.
All of that was good, but it was not the revelation that God gave me to share. So here it goes...
The Lord showed me this about 3 am. Last night during Bible Study, after opening with a worship song, I had to run to the balcony and run the sound board and start the broadcast for the YouTube Livestream so we could capture Byron's teaching. Last week I had done the same thing, with Chandler's help, but he was working last night so I was on my own. I called one of our audio ministry workers (CM) for help because last week we didn't have sound and I wanted to make sure that I had it right this week. Everything was plugged in, the camera was set, the OBS (btw, I have no idea what that stands for) and YouTube windows were open and when I hit the "start streaming" I received an error message. Something about the server! CM took me through several options, by closing the program and reopening it and going directly to advanced settings; checking the IP address and hitting "start streaming". NOTHING but the same error message. Ugh! Meanwhile I'm missing the beginning of Byron's teaching and getting frustrated. I told CM nevermind...we'lll figure it out for next week. He hung up, but I couldn't let it go...
I shut down the program again and restarted it. This time I went to advanced settings and instead of keeping the named IP address, there was a drop down window with other options, one that said 'default'. Default for computers means 'a selection automatically used by a program in the absence of a choice made by the user'. As soon as I chose the default option and hit the "start streaming" button, it actually STARTED STREAMING. You don't say! I called CM back, he laughed and then said "I see it, but I still don't hear sound on my end". You have got to be kidding me!!!
Then he and I began going through audio options. He directed me to the sound board to go to the lapel mic channel AUX 6 and turn the knob. NOTHING! Then we tried AUX 6, 7, and 8...still NOTHING. We tried the handlheld mic channel to mirror the lapel mic channel...AUX 6,7 and 8. STILL NOTHING! Then he asked me a simple question...
A question that would change my life forever. A question that God revealed to me at 3am was what was holding me back and keeping me hostage. CM asked, "do you have it plugged into the correct input?" I replied, "I'm not sure, it's plugged into Input 1". To which he corrected and told me that Input 2 is where my cable needed to be plugged.
Well can you tell me what happened next? Come on people...I know you're pretty smart.
When I changed the input, the audio was immediately restored to the live YouTube feed. Someone who was trying to watch online, had left a message in the news feed. Once it was up and running, I replied " Sorry for the delay. the sound has been restored" and Bible study continued without a hitch.
But what was the word that God had for me?
God showed me that there are people waiting for you and I to be plugged in to the correct source.
They can't receive the message that God has for them, if we are not plugged in correctly which would allow the message to flow through. So many of us have been living life by default. We were raised in church, know the church lingo, love God, have examples of God-fearing workers, sing in the choir, usher in the usher ministry, part of the outreach team, work in the community and the list goes on. By default, we have picked up and been in environments that show us to be "good" people. But GOD says there needs to be more. We've been getting by with the default programming, but the message is still not being heard because we are not plugged into the correct input. The form of godliness is there, but it isn't until you look closer that you realize the input is wrong. MY GOD! God is saying to me that I can't just rest on my laurels and my history with God (my default system) and expect God to be heard through me. I've got to look a little closer to him to make certain that I'm connected in HIM and not in what appears to be the correct channel. (Insert singing..."Yes Lord") It's more than just appearance, it's the right relationship.
When you're plugged into the correct input, people will finally be able to hear the message which was intended for them from the beginning.
You are the mouthpiece that God needs, but He needs you to be totally plugged into the correct source.
Now take a moment to digest that word for your life, check your input and walk it out...
Yes Lord. I receive that.
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