I realize that I haven’t done a good job at blogging in this season leading up to leaving on this incredible adventure. In all honesty, I have never been great at expressing myself and have been self-conscious about allowing my heart to be exposed to too many people. But this is not my adventure, nor is it my life, so I feel the need to update you on what the Lord has been up to in the last few months and what I have been learning. Most of this is stuff I already knew, but I am learning in a new and profound way, and some of this is new. All of it is unfolding beautifully, and this is only the beginning. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has to reveal in the next year of my life.
Lessons from the Lord:
-When the Lord says move….move. Do not hesitate. His plans are far greater than ours even when they don’t make much sense. I don’t have to have it all figured out ahead of time, He will equip me. It is hard to let go of things I planned and to leave things behind. But this I know for sure- His promises are true. He is good. I should not ask the Lord to direct my steps if I am not willing to move my feet. I should not declare that I am His follower if I am not willing to follow. This will look different for everyone, but He has big plans for each of our lives.
-We are not bound by expectations or circumstances if we are choosing to live in the freedom of Christ.
-Sometimes we have to be removed from a situation in order to be able to see the big picture. This often results in our eyes being opened to why things didn't work out and how we fell short in a big way. However, the Lord is good and gives us opportunities to make it right.
-Truth. Speak it. Always. I had become afraid to speak the truth because I was afraid of offending people. In withholding the truth from others, I am not doing them good, I am doing them a disservice. Even when the truth is uncomfortable to speak, it is an opportunity for growth on both peoples’ parts.
-The heart, though most often filled with beauty and magnificent things, can be corrupted by the world and will need a daily transformation. My heart has been calloused by things that the Lord is revealing to me and scraping away bit by bit. These things include, but are not limited to: selfishness, pride, insecurity, fear, control, etc. It is important to examine my heart daily to see what it contains and to bring it back to a pure heart beating to the tune of the Lord, free from corruption and anxious to bless.
-Time. I do not have the luxury of time. I cannot say, “I will do that after…I will do that when…” I am not guaranteed any number of days for my life, nor do I know the day the Lord will return. I have a truth that is selfish to hold onto. I should share the Gospel everyday. It is the only thing of true value I have to offer the world. My life is not mine to do with as I please, it is the Lord’s to use for His will and purpose. I must give it away everyday.
-Stay in the present. More often than not lately, I am longing to be in another country. I love where the Lord has me right now and I am blessed beyond explanation, but I am looking toward the future. The Lord recently drew my attention to the fact that I am missing out on the incredible things He is doing right before my eyes because I am looking ahead. I was brought back to the present and am blown away by the way He is working in so many lives right now. What a sweet gift to have front row seats to witness the incredible ways He is moving in people’s lives and how He is going to use them. The people that surround me are not just extraordinary, they are life changers, they are world changers. I am blessed.
-Community. One of God’s greatest blessings. I could not be more loved or more thankful than I am right now. I have been surrounded by the greatest group of people that have helped to shape this into the most joyful season of my life. My church, my friends, my family, my job, YoungLife, and other areas of my life are filled with the most incredible people you will ever meet. They are a true representation of the Lord. My heart is filled to overflowing. There are daily opportunities to bless and be blessed and it is a sweet, sweet thing.
-A heart of thankfulness can rid you of any woes. It is impossible to be upset, anxious, (fill in the blank), when I am thanking the Lord for the gifts He gives me daily. It is impossible to see the world through heavy eyes with my eyes fixed on Him unless it is in a way that moves me to action to glorify Him by improving the lives of others.
-Each week I have the opportunity to worship the Lord freely and corporately with other believers surrounding me. In other countries, as well as our own, there are people whose ears have never been graced with the sweet name of Jesus. There are people who have never had the opportunity to hear about a love that could change their life. This should daily break my heart. This should make me want to shout His name from the rooftops.
-The heart of worship. Remember the song that says, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, all about You. Jesus..I’m sorry Lord, for the thing I’ve made it, when it’s all about You?” I am realizing more and more that we have turned our relationship with the Lord into something it was never intended to be. It has become a production- we come before Him in masks. We feel the need to have it all together, to come forth with extravagant worship, to have eloquent words to voice to the Lord. We act like we need to be “worthy” in order to approach the throne of grace. But it is just that- a throne of GRACE, where He asks us to come as we are: broken, sinful. He asks us to simply come to Him. Who we are and where we’re at is always an appropriate way to come to Him, because He has the means to heal the hurt places and cast off the undesirable things that we aren’t meant to live in. Our relationship with the Lord is simply about coming to the Father, sitting face-to-face at His feet and allowing that to be enough. It’s all about Him. When we allow ourselves to try to put ourselves together and be who we’re not, we make it about us, and stand in the way of the love and grace He wants to offer us.
This is just a small taste of the lessons I am learning leading up to this adventure. Along with these things, my heart is breaking for new things. Each day a new thing is revealed and each day my eyes are opened a little wider to the things of this world that break my Father’s heart and also the things that bring Him joy. I want my life to proclaim who He is. I don’t want to be seen, I want Him to receive the glory in all circumstances
