Some friends and I were at the U2 concert in Minneapolis this last week.
It was amazing!
60,000 + people in the brand new TCF outdoor stadium.
The lights went down and Bono's voice came across the speakers, and when the lights came on the place went absolutely nuts.
The sky was threatening but it had remained dry into the evening.
About 3 songs into their set, I felt it.
A drop of rain hit my head.
Midway throughout the song, it was thundering and lightning was flashing and it was pouring down rain.
Wise people pulled out their ponchos and threw them on quickly.
Not me.
Not wise.
No poncho.
My first thought was "This sucks.....this is gonna put a damper on the night for sure".
I was completely drenched, but just when I was beginning to be bothered by it, something amazing happened.
From outside the stadium, fireworks began exploding in the air.
Inside the stadium, on the giant screen, a video played of an astronaut named Giffords, who floated cutout words toward the camera from zero gravity.
The words: "It's a beautiful day".
You may remember his name. His wife, Gabrielle Giffords was at a political function at a mall a few months back when a man showed up and shot her in the head.
The band started singing "It's a beautiful day".
60,000+ people erupted in dancing, screaming and applause.
.........And in the midst of a storm
.........Joy!
I thought to myself, why?
Why would a crowd this big in the middle of a huge storm be joyful?
How could they be this excited?
Here is how.
The fans at this concert saw a bigger picture.
If there was nothing happening but the rain, people would have been running for cover and miserable.
But there was more than rain happening.
U2 was playing live for them. Fireworks were going off. There was an awesome stage and an amazing light show.....and an astronaut that had every reason to be depressed and miserable, telling them that today is a beautiful day.
Christians reading this listen to me.
This is how we are to live our lives.
You may have just been handed divorce papers.
Maybe you just got laid off.
Maybe your world is crumbling down around you...
Rain
We need to live our lives seeing the bigger picture.
Jesus came. He was crucified for you and I.
He rolled the rock away and came out.
He did all of that so we have a bigger picture than the huge storm hovering over us from time to time.
In the end He wins, and we win right along with him.
Like the old hymn goes, "Trouble don't last always".
In the midst of the storm...
May you see the fireworks.
May you hear the music
And may you hear the voice of God telling you, "It's a beautiful day"
It was amazing!
60,000 + people in the brand new TCF outdoor stadium.
The lights went down and Bono's voice came across the speakers, and when the lights came on the place went absolutely nuts.
The sky was threatening but it had remained dry into the evening.
About 3 songs into their set, I felt it.
A drop of rain hit my head.
Midway throughout the song, it was thundering and lightning was flashing and it was pouring down rain.
Wise people pulled out their ponchos and threw them on quickly.
Not me.
Not wise.
No poncho.
My first thought was "This sucks.....this is gonna put a damper on the night for sure".
I was completely drenched, but just when I was beginning to be bothered by it, something amazing happened.
From outside the stadium, fireworks began exploding in the air.
Inside the stadium, on the giant screen, a video played of an astronaut named Giffords, who floated cutout words toward the camera from zero gravity.
The words: "It's a beautiful day".
You may remember his name. His wife, Gabrielle Giffords was at a political function at a mall a few months back when a man showed up and shot her in the head.
The band started singing "It's a beautiful day".
60,000+ people erupted in dancing, screaming and applause.
.........And in the midst of a storm
.........Joy!
I thought to myself, why?
Why would a crowd this big in the middle of a huge storm be joyful?
How could they be this excited?
Here is how.
The fans at this concert saw a bigger picture.
If there was nothing happening but the rain, people would have been running for cover and miserable.
But there was more than rain happening.
U2 was playing live for them. Fireworks were going off. There was an awesome stage and an amazing light show.....and an astronaut that had every reason to be depressed and miserable, telling them that today is a beautiful day.
Christians reading this listen to me.
This is how we are to live our lives.
You may have just been handed divorce papers.
Maybe you just got laid off.
Maybe your world is crumbling down around you...
Rain
We need to live our lives seeing the bigger picture.
Jesus came. He was crucified for you and I.
He rolled the rock away and came out.
He did all of that so we have a bigger picture than the huge storm hovering over us from time to time.
In the end He wins, and we win right along with him.
Like the old hymn goes, "Trouble don't last always".
In the midst of the storm...
May you see the fireworks.
May you hear the music
And may you hear the voice of God telling you, "It's a beautiful day"
