Come and see!

I heard them before I saw them. Loud squawking filled the air as two green parrots announced their arrival and flew in to land among the branches of one of the many palm trees lining the promenade of the Spanish resort. I was excited because although Lurgan Park is especially beautiful, we don’t have any native wild parrots and therefore this was an interesting sight! I was disappointed however that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see them clearly as they were nestled high among the branches.

All of a sudden, there was a flurry of wings. A local gentleman had scattered some seed on the sand to feed the pigeons. The parrots, spotting a good feeding opportunity, had swooped down to join the pigeons for a picnic on the beach – and they brought their friends along too! I could barely contain my excitement and called to my travelling companions to “Come and See”. Up close, the parrots’ colours were breath-taking and I spent some time watching and photographing them. My enthusiasm also piqued the curiosity of a number of passers-by, who also stopped to watch this peculiar picnic on the sand!

This unexpected experience came to mind as I spent some time recently thinking about how we can inspire the young people in our care to worship the Living God. Many leaders in our GB companies may consider themselves ‘inadequate’, ‘inexperienced’ or ‘unqualified’ to teach the girls about worship and may delegate the responsibility to someone who they feel to be more able or qualified than they are. Ministry qualifications and experience are extremely valuable and are necessary in many situations but, in reality, to inspire others to worship God, we often simply have to call them to “Come and See”.

The reality is that we are all worshippers but many of us will differ in who or what we direct our worship towards.
If we worship self-image or beauty, we will fall apart when our followers don’t ‘like’ our Instagram photo as much as the last one.

If we worship a sports star, we will be shattered when he or she fails a drugs test or crashes out of a competition.

If we worship academic success, we will lose hope when someone else obtains a higher score on the test paper or assignment.

If we worship a public figure, we will be devastated when they do wrong and we realise that they are human beings just like us.

It is our job to show the young people in our care that we were created to worship the Living God and it is only in worshipping Him that we find true fulfilment, lasting joy and enduring hope. And if you love and worship God, the best way that you can inspire others to do the same is to call them to “Come and See”.

In his book ‘Look and Live’ (Bethany House Publishers 2014), Matt Papa writes “You see something magnificent, and then respond in the praise or adoration of that thing. That’s worship. You behold or experience some glory, whether it’s.. the glory of a sunset, the glory of a rock band, or the glory of God, and then, quite naturally, you overflow with awe. You sing. You say “Wow!” You call others to experience it with you. Worship is offering glory-given in response to seeing glory-within. It is giving value to whatever we see to be valuable.”
How do we begin to inspire others to worship the Living God? We immerse ourselves in His Word, we behold His glory and then we call others to “Come and See”.

Consider spending some time prayerfully immersing yourself in God’s word before your new GB session begins - The Psalms are a wonderful place to start. 

“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you
are mindful of them,
human beings that you
care for them?”
(Psalm 8:3-4)

Then, share some of what God has revealed to you with the young people in your care. There are no special qualifications or abilities needed - Call them to “Come and See” what God has done!

The songs that have been provided in the Scripture material this year have been designed for this purpose. “Lord you’ve searched me” is a song based on Psalm 139 and is writtento aid us in worshipping God because He created us so uniquely and intricately.

“My God is Good” is a song that will aid even our youngest girls in worshipping our Great God whose love goes on and on!
It is my prayer that these songs will be used this year for the glory of God alone and that many girls will be called to “Come and See” what our amazing God can do!

Shelley Spiers

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