08/13/2025
I've just begun a new devotional based on what I've learned in my 56 years of ministry. It's called from Cornmarket to Capitol Hill. It will be coming out as a book, hopefully by the end of the year.
 I'd love you to begin following it and sending me your thoughts!
Day 11 ✦ Worship Over Fear
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” — Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
The evangelist, Cecil Stewart, had planned an afternoon meeting at Ulster Hall the next day.
I had never done anything like it before.
I wasn’t some polished contemporary Christian artist.
I was just a girl with a guitar from America, showing up with faith and a few songs in her heart.
Now I found myself on stage, looking out over a half-filled auditorium.
People were hesitant to come.
In Belfast, even a worship gathering could be risky.
A single bomb or threat could scatter a crowd in seconds.
But still — they came.
A small, faithful group who chose worship over fear.
I sang three or four songs I’d prepared back home — simple melodies with honest lyrics, the kind you sing when you have more conviction than confidence.
Then came others:
Local singers.
Worship leaders.
Peter playing the accordion and piano.
And finally, the evangelist himself, urging the room to trust in Jesus.
“With God,” he said, voice echoing off the old hall walls,
“all things are possible.”
And we needed Him — all of us.
That night, driving home through the still-tense streets, I exhaled a quiet prayer of thanks.
We were safe.
The meeting had happened.
The name of Jesus had been lifted up in the heart of a fractured city.
That was enough for me.
Monday came, and I settled into a new routine.
During the week, I worked in the evangelist’s office — helping send out prayer letters, handling admin, typing up mailing lists.
All of it was foreign.
The names were unfamiliar.
The addresses strange.
The rhythm — nothing like home.
But I learned the job.
This was part of the calling too.
Monday to Friday was office work.
But evenings and weekends were for mission.
Tent crusades.
Street outreaches.
Open-air meetings.
We packed up Bibles, sound equipment, and banners and went wherever the people were.
Rain or shine.
Bomb threats or not.
If someone would listen, we’d be there.
🧭 Reflection
Have you ever had to choose worship in a moment of fear or uncertainty?
What does “faithfulness” look like in the unseen, routine parts of your life?
How can you embrace both the quiet callings and the bold moments in your own mission?
🙏 Prayer
Jesus, thank You that You are with us in every gathering — no matter how big or small, no matter how risky or ordinary.
Help me to worship even when I’m afraid, to show up when others hesitate, and to embrace the unseen parts of my calling with joy.
Let my heart be steady in the office and on the street, in worship and in work.
Use every part of my life — routine and radical — for Your glory.
Amen.
