Good morning, and happy Sunday.

In Numbers 11, Moses, in severe distress due to the burden of leading the ever-so-ungrateful Israelites, cries out to God for help. In response, God releases the power of the Spirit unto seventy others to build an army of supporters around him.

Reading this story reminded me of how God showed up when my dearest wife Mary and I felt burdened in our hearts— upon returning from our trip to London where we rediscovered our first love for Christ— to usher the Spirit of Jesus into our city of Los Angeles.

Goodness, I cannot wait to tell you the stories today.

If anyone crosses your mind as you read, I encourage you to put your faith into action by forwarding this post along, perhaps coupled with a loving word of encouragement. You just may make someone’s day without knowing it.

God in the Daily: The Night of Worship

A couple of months ago, Mary and I visited London and the church she used to attend— the place where she personally encountered Jesus.

Upon meeting Mary’s old friends and witnessing the church’s pure and genuine love for Jesus, coupled with their Spirit-led passion, I was reminded of how far I’d fallen from my first love for Christ and ended up repenting on my knees.

One thing that struck me above all was just how on fire people were for God. Oh, how in awe they were. In reverence. In joy. And in love.

When we returned home, Mary and I both suddenly felt a heavy burden on our hearts, wondering how we could usher the same Holy Spirit and the spiritual fervor we encountered in London into our city of Los Angeles: for the communities and the people here to find their way back to their first love for Christ.

We asked God to use us in whatever way to advance His kingdom. And honestly, it didn’t take long for Him to answer. It’s funny how quickly the Spirit picks up on those kinds of prayers and puts our faith to test.

Here’s what happened. When we were in London, Allan and Anya— our friends and leaders of the aforementioned church— told us they are planning on visiting LA soon.

A week before their arrival, I was praying ahead for our time together. Then, the Spirit nudged me to invite them to stay at our place. ‘Sure thing. Not a problem.’ I said.

Then again, the Spirit said to ask them to lead a worship night at our place. ‘Really?’ I wrestled with the Spirit there a bit. I mean, they were going to be on vacation for goodness sake— the one time away from all things church-related— and the Spirit was asking me to have ‘em be workin’ again.

But I decided to obey, because I knew not what God had in plan. Thankfully, Allan and Anya happily obliged.

Fast forward to the worship night, to my surprise, 10 people showed up on a random Friday, some friends and some strangers: all for the sole purpose of worshiping God.

To this day, I still cannot believe nor really find the right words to express the beauty that unfolded that night.

First, we broke bread together, and I gave thanks to God and asked the Spirit to show up and unite us in our love for Christ. Then, we began worshiping.

The way Allan and Anya sang and ushered in the Spirit— with humble and sincere hearts before the Lord— moved every one of us there. The air felt thick, completely saturated with the presence of God, in a way I’d never quite experienced before.

From left to right, people dropped to their knees while some raised their hands— all keeping our minds and eyes focused on worshiping God without a care in the world. It did not matter that some of us didn’t know each other; what mattered was we were here for God and to praise Him for all His goodness.

Though we started the night as strangers, we were united as one, both in our hearts and in Christ, as a family. We sang, we prayed, we cried, and we laughed together for hours, late into the evening.

Afterwards, the Spirit of Jesus spoke through Anya and Allan and encouraged us to be intentional in putting our God-given gifts to good use and seriously consider pursuing a ministry together as a team. The burden we felt was to set us on a new journey ahead.

This night was a turning point in my faith. I’ll never forget the love God demonstrated by simply showing up through the Spirit of Jesus, who lifted our spirits as we worshiped.

Suffice to say, when we brought our burdens to God, He met us where we were and then some. Through Allan and Anya and the precious crowd of 10, He also reassured us we are not alone in this journey.

Something tells me there is indeed a new season upon us, and God is on the move.

Thank you, my one and only wonderful Father in heaven. May we empty ourselves to be the vessel for the Spirit of Jesus to overflow and reach the hearts of those in need.

Encouragement from the Word: Numbers 11

What I Found Encouraging

As we read in Exodus, Moses was uniquely burdened with delivering God’s people out of Egypt and to the promised land. Unfortunately, whenever the Israelites felt let down, they complained to Moses and mocked God.

This time, shortly after setting out from the Desert of Sinai, the Israelites in their hunger resorted to lashing out about how they were better off as slaves in Egypt.

Troubled by being sandwiched between ungrateful Israelites and furious God, Moses reaches the end of his rope and cries out to God for help. He laments in saying the burden is too heavy and how he’d rather die if things should stay this way.

In response, God anoints not 1 or 2 but a whopping crowd of 70 elders to accompany Moses in his journey of leading the Israelites.

Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20). In this case, God sent Moses an army of people to support him. Can you imagine the burden Moses was shouldering for it to be shared with 70 others?

Every time Moses reached out for help, God delivered without fail. And ‘tis the beauty of it all: He delivers according to His portion, not ours.

When our hearts are burdened, we can find comfort in knowing that we have a direct relationship with our Father in heaven and have the liberty of asking Him for strength and help.

Jesus says, “Cast all your anxiety on [God], because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7). In other words, because He cares for you, cast all your anxiety unto Him.

He knows the weight of our burdens, and He not only cares but is also eager to help us.

He may not answer in the way we expect or desire, but He will answer.

My Encouragement for You

Do you have a burden on your heart that feels too heavy and know not where to lean on?

Here’s what Jesus says in Matthew 11:

Though giving up may seem like the solution at hand, my beloved, I hope you can see from today’s stories that God is on the ready to show up and help: be it through faithful friends like Allan and Anya or a crowd of 70.

So, let us “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

For God is with us, and He is for us.

With love, Jae

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

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