As I was sitting in small groups at camp, I decided to ask my campers what they learned about Jesus this week. We got to Lucy and she replied: “I learned that this Jesus thing is more of a cult than I thought”.
Before I go any further, I want to share a few things. Before this comment, this camper made it known that she wasn’t a believer. She refused to participate in small groups, and told me daily that she didn’t want to go to our worship services.
The first time I found out that my camper wasn’t a believer, it brought me to tears. I went to school for youth ministry for the last four years, was a camp counselor the previous summer, and never once experienced a teenager who knew the bible yet rejected it and God.
When I found out she wasn’t a believer, it broke me inside.
You see, I found God in my darkest moments in life, and I couldn’t imagine living without the hope he gives me each day.
I couldn’t imagine living without his love and walking in a personal relationship with him.
It was in those moments I began to pray, that God would work in her heart this week. If we are being honest, I prayed that she would come to accept Christ in her heart. I wanted this to be the week that her life would change. But then I remembered something:
God doesn’t always work in our timing.
He works in his own time.
And in his own ways.
Lucy wasn’t willing to let God in. There was a stronghold that prevented her from having a relationship with God. On the front of her bible she wrote: “This is a Lie”.
While my camper didn’t come to know Christ a few weeks ago, God reminded me that while Lucy may not have accepted Christ in her heart, that I had planted seeds just as God had called me to do. Just like Lucy, we are all searching and wrestling with questions. We are searching to find what we believe.
There is one word that could change everything:
BELIEVE
The other week, I was talking with my friend Erica about Gideon from Judges 7.
Gideon had 32,000 men to fight when all of a sudden God told him that he had too many men and that he needed to get rid of some. They got rid of 22,000, and were left with 10,000 men. But God wasn’t finished yet. He said: “There are still too many men” (Judges 7:4). So they got rid of more men and were left with 300 men!
JUST 300 Men.
You see when God asked Gideon to go from 32,000 to 300 men he was obedient.
He had to BELIEVE that God would provide.
I think so often we try to fight our own battles with our own strengths. We need to put our confidence in God and not rely on our own strength.
For the past few weeks, I have questioned whether or not I should go on the WorldRace. To be honest, I almost quit. But after talking with a friend, I found out why I wanted to quit. Just like my camper a few weeks ago, I believed the lies that Satan used to attack my mission he has called me to. I had fear.
Fear means “an emotion of dread or alarm caused by danger; timidity”.
I had fear, but God called me to BELIEVE.
Believe means “to trust in; to hold a firm conviction”.
God called me to BELIEVE.
As I’ve been preparing for the Worldrace, I’ve felt myself in a similar position to Gideon. I’ve found myself trying to earn all of the trips money on my own strength. But like Gideon, there is no way I can advance without God’s help.
And even though I run towards doubt, God calls me to trust.
He calls me to BELIEVE.
To BELIEVE that he will provide.
There is no way that I can earn 17,417 dollars on my own strength.
Just like Gideon, I am afraid, and I have fear for the journey. But I’m learning to Believe and trust that God has me.
And at times I find myself like my camper: I let myself BELIEVE lies and doubt that Satan attacks me with.
But instead of listening to the lies, I’m going to …. BELIEVE.
