A Peek Behind the Veil -- How God Uses Our Service

When was the last time you experienced a holy moment? A time when the veil between this world and the next stretched thin? When you could almost but not quite peek through? A moment when the spirit nudged aside the physical and you could see—really see—what God sees? 

I experienced a holy moment on the morning of September 29. Our church family had been preparing for weeks for its 60th anniversary, and the day was finally here. My husband and I have been part of New Testament Baptist Church for four years, and David serves as pastor. 

Four years is a blink in time compared to the years two of our founding members have invested in the church. The Easterlings are charter members who recently celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary and their 95th birthdays. 

One of several families God called to start the church, the Easterlings met with the others in homes, then in the band room of a local high school, then in an office building, and, finally, in the church building where we now meet. Did they ever imagine, during those early years, that they’d one day be celebrating the church’s 60th anniversary? 

And what about Mr. B., the man who taught the boys’ Sunday school class in the back of his Volkswagen van thirty years ago? When the church outgrew its Sunday school space, he took his class outside and taught them there. Did he dream of what God might do with his commitment to teach God’s Word to boys who were more interested in baseball than Bible verses? 

He probably never imagined that Brooks H. would one day testify how the seeds Mr. B. sowed into his wiggly soul would one day bear spiritual fruit. Brooks came to faith in Christ as a young adult and now serves God as a pastor in a neighboring church. 

Abby M, a former member who lives out of state, testified by video how she “heard the Word of God first at home, and then at NTBC.” Her mother led the children’s choir for years. Today Abby writes and speaks for God. Her first book releases in the spring. Do you think, when her mama was trying to coax joyful noises out of reluctant mouths, she glimpsed how God would use her dedication to pave the way for her daughter’s literary life song? 

The testimonies flowed as we laughed and reminisced. 

When the last guest had gone and the sanctuary was silent, I lingered for a moment, fingering the brass markers on the tops of each pew. Evidence of a long-ago fund raising campaign, the markers bore names of members who had sacrificially given to buy the pews I take for granted every Sunday. Until today, the names had been meaningless—whispers of a day gone by. Now they shone like gold, the calling cards of those who had given of their treasure to serve the Lord. 

If you’re like me, you serve God the best you know how. Flawed, frail, and feeble, we sing in the choir, feed the homeless, and comfort the grieving. We teach, and give, and pray. We look ahead to tomorrow, and maybe next week, or next month. Seldom do we lift our heads and look long—decades long—into a time when the spiritual seeds we’ve sown will bear fruit. When others take their places in the march of faith because we showed them how to put one foot in front of the other. 

During our church’s 60th anniversary celebration, God allowed me to peek behind the veil and see what He sees—churches that exist today because of those who came before us. 

Now it’s our turn.

In the whisper of the empty sanctuary and the hush of the moment, I heard the Spirit ask, What kind of future are you building for those who come behind you? 

Like Nell and Lairy, Mr. B., and Abby’s mom, may we be found faithful. 

“Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. (John 4:35-36).

Are you hungry for God, but starving for time? 
I’d love to send you a 5-minute e-mail devotion twice a week to start your day off with the Lord. 

Sign up for a free subscription to Hungry for God by CLICKING HERE.
Then, be sure to VALIDATE the confirmation email you receive. 

Note: I promise never to spam you or share your email address.

Because busy women need to connect with God in the craziness of everyday life.