This week we have been doing our summer VBS. And we are very thankful for the opportunity to have it here at our building while still observing social distancing as well as offering an at home version for those who wish to participate without being in public. It has been a great experience so far and we have one more night tonight that is going to be just as fun (if not more so) than the first two nights.
We see this as an opportunity to serve the Lord, by teaching them Bible stories, leading them in songs, teaching them crafts that a lesson. But this opportunity did not just fall in our laps this year. In the past, there was nothing stopping us from doing whatever we wanted. It was work, but it was fairly easy and familiar. But this year, the easy thing to do would have been to say that since we cant do it like we used to, lets just not do it at all and wait until things are back to normal.
But that’s not how God works.
God often provides opportunities, but they are not often easy or familiar. He told Abraham to leave his land and family and travel to an unfamiliar place (Gen 12:1). He told Gideon to go to battle using trumpets and lanterns (Judges 7:16). He told Jonah to go preach to one of the cruelest nations of the time (Jonah 1:2).
It may be tempting to think that because circumstances may be more difficult or less familiar, God is not expecting as much out of us. But that is not found anywhere in scripture. Now is the time to step out of our comfort zones and seek out ways to serve our God. There is always an opportunity, we might just have to look a little harder these days.