I prayed right before writing this. That God would move through me. That my words could try and even come close to the taste of heaven I experienced tonight.
I saw God move tonight. And what a beautiful thing it was to be a part of. I experienced Outcry (and what an appropriate name given that my throat hurts from shouting infinite praises to the Lord.) FOR SIX HOURS. That’s right people, six whole hours.
Let me break it down for you…
The night opened up with Lauren Daigle. And lemme tell you… It was HOT and HUMID. Then after a few acts the sky started to transform from silver linings to dark, billowing, tornado-like clouds. At first, I felt relieved. It wasn’t that hot anymore, and I could finally relax and enjoy my night with 5000 of my closest friends. Then a thought swept over my mind faster than the storm had rolled in. Satan. Satan is going to pull the lightning storm card on us, so all the praising and joy would come to a screeching halt.
The wind started to pick up. Which is very unusual for a Memphis summer, because, well, it’s Memphis. At this point Bethel Music was rocking it on the stage and performing ‘Deep Cries Out.’ The wind grew stronger as we continued to sing these lyrics:
I’ve got a river of living water
A fountain that will never run dry
It’s open Heavens You’re releasing
And we will never be denied.
At that moment I realized, Satan wasn’t trying to steal the spotlight because God has already stolen it. The wind- in the midst of all the humidity, showed me that God was releasing His heaven on us. And what a miracle it was to witness. Later in the song it said:
If He goes left, then we’ll go to the left
If He goes right, then we’ll go to the right
We’re going to jump, jump, jump, in the river
We’re going to dance, dance, dance in the river.
The wind picked up even more. Which blows my mind because, again, it’s Memphis. I got goosebumps in August. Like what?! The wind intertwined with the leaves of the trees- and it appeared that God’s creation was dancing along with us. Because He is a amazing, and has a sense of humor like that.
So everyone had their turn on the stage. From Passion to Trip Lee. But we all knew what was to come. Two life changing words. HILLSONG UNITED. The one band alone that could get everyone in the building falling on their knees at once. It also happens to be the band that inspired me every waking second of my life to be a better person, worship leader, and most importantly- a follower of our living God.
Then, the unpredictable happened. Lightning delay… Right before Hillsong United. I was not okay. I said “NOOOO SATAN, NOT TODAY. YOU CANNOT STOP THIS FROM MOVING IN PEOPLE’S HEARTS BECAUSE GOD HAS ALREADY SET THIS INTO MOTION. HE IS ALREADY HERE AND THERE IS NO POWER THAT COULD STAND AGAINST IT.”
Confused and flustered- we evacuated. I thought, “That’s it. Hillsong won’t perform and I will never see them again.”
So as we waited outside- shadows popped up here and there- but not just any shadows- shadows from a tour bus (always a good shadow to be around.) The workers moved out a mini stage- and there they were.
20 feet away from me stood not only Hillsong- but Kari Jobe, Trip Lee, Lauren Daigle, Passion, Bethel Music. The whole deal. All of them were there, backing up Hillsong. And while we thought that thunder and lightning would steal the night away, there. we. were. Worshipping the God who created that lightning. Worshipping the God who showed us He was there by the wind. In the end, we didn’t need a big stage and kaleidoscope lights. We didn’t need out of this world graphics and a synth machine to make us realize He was there. Because He was already in the voices of people crying out to HIM.
He took the barrier between the people on stage and the people in the audience and brought them together in the most beautiful way possible. It didn’t matter that the person next to you couldn’t sing. Love mattered. And that’s the only thing I saw present.
Tonight made me realize that we serve a Mighty God- and nothing aside from that matters. And what a blessing it was to be a part of something bigger than myself.
Outcry to me is a word that should be used in our daily vocabulary. God is the ONLY thing that makes this life worthy of living- and we need to cry out praises and thankfulness to Him. Always.
All photos are from my awesome, dear, sweet friends at 901 music. They are SO good at what they do☺️ Keep capturing the beauty of mankind because you guys are oh so VERY good at it!
Meredith Druelinger 