Flood My Soul

Floods are terrifying things. Stacy, in Port Arthur, Texas, told our mission trip team that she was asleep in her house during Hurricane Harvey and was woken up by flood waters rushing past her hand. She had no time to save any of her possessions - just to get out of her house and save her life.
 
Stacy now lives in the bare bones of her house with no insulation and none of her former possessions. She lives with a space heater borrowed from her friend Ester, an army cot and comforter, a microwave, and a mini refrigerator - and she has been living this way since August when the floods ravaged Port Arthur.
 
But the flood did more than just damage because God can create good even in the worst tragedies. It flooded Stacy’s soul with a passion for Jesus - one that she says was not possible when she had all those possessions to distract her. “It's just me and Jesus now, just me and
Jesus”, she would repeat as she told us about her situation.
 
Stacy’s story brought a flood of emotions to our group too. How could a woman with so little be so joyful? It makes me wonder - what do I flood my soul with? What consumes me? Is it just “me and Jesus” or is there something else in the way? What about you? Does Jesus flood your soul? Do we get swept away into the flood that is the Holy Spirit?
 
I want what Stacy has, I just don't want to go through the same tragedy to get there. But maybe that's the problem. Maybe the flood will never come into my comfortable Alto home - where I am content and happy and things are easy. Maybe it's time to start praying bold prayers - ones not concerned about my safety or my comfort, but ones that are a little scary - ones that welcome the Holy Spirit to flood my life. Maybe you want that too. Let's pray those prayers for this congregation. Let's ask God to make us uncomfortable and to flood Alto with so much Jesus that we can say it's “just us and Jesus now.”