God Works in Quaker Meeting

I just wanted to share quickly today one of the ways we can see that God works regularly in Quaker Meetings.

Today in Meeting, a man stood up to give ministry (for those that don't know, ministry is when a person feels moved by God to stand and speak about something. It's what they feel God is telling them to say, not what they just want to stand up and talk about. A lot of people say they don't even know what came out of their mouth during ministry). He read a section from Advices and Queries in 'Quaker Faith and Practice' on simplicity.

It was interesting because this ministry spoke to me. Often ministry will reach at least one person in the room, occasionally everyone will relate directly to the ministry given. It just shows that it is God using the people in the room to say what he wants to say and what needs to be said. What the people gathered there are feeling and thinking is often responded to by God via ministry.

A friend of mine told me a story today of when she was feeling depressed over a long period of time. One day in Meeting, every ministry given was about helping those in need, comforting those suffering with depression. It confirmed to her that God knew how she was feeling and the ministry helped others reach out to her for the support she needed. Amazing!

Today's ministry spoke to me because this week I have been thinking about simplicity. How I live simply in the Quaker way. (I will do a separate post soon on how simplicity is in my life). But I was thinking about it this week because I was shopping for new clothes and trying to decided what was an appropriate amount to spend on an item of clothing and how much I should spend overall.

Is there any difference in spending £100 on 10 items of clothing or spending £100 on 1 item of clothing? This ministry spoke directly to me because it said 'do not be led into buying things you do not need nor things you cannot afford'. It answered some of my questions. If you don't need it, you shouldn't spend a penny on it. If you do need it but you can't afford it, drop it.

It just goes to show that God knows what's going on in your life and he does find ways to communicate! My God is there with me every week in Meeting.