10-16-12
Last night, during a time of prophecy and speaking life over one of our squad leaders, God gave me a vision of a train rolling along it’s track. Specifically, I was eye level with the wheels and God highlighted how each wheel is connected to another. None of them moves without affecting the movement of another. If one breaks, the entire system is marred. Each gains or loses momentum depending on the performance of those connected to it. God then showed me how this is representative of the timeline of one’s lifetime; no event, no occurrence, no conversation, nothing happens without affecting something else in your life. “Wheels” from when you were two or three years old could easily have a connection to “wheels” turning now. Nothing in life is coincidence.
This certainly makes sense in my life. I can look back at the series of events that lead me to this moment, right now, where I find myself sitting in a rare spot of shade on a rooftop in Carrefour, Haiti, having already been to morning ministry (today this consisted of teaching school children to Hacky and Yo-Yo), gazing at the nearby ocean, listening to The Crabb Family on iTunes and marveling at the fact that I GET TO HAVE MOMENTS LIKE THIS for nine and a half more months, and I know that God had this planned for me before I was even born.
He planted me in a family and community that are God-centered, ensuring that I would grow up grounded and with a sound Biblical lifestyle. He’s afforded me more than my share of opportunities to work with children and youth, embedding in me a passion to love them and help set them on a path for success. He sent me to Australia and New Zealand, encouraging my desires to travel the world, and eventually turning those into desires to reach the world. He let me see success and experiences in academics and sports that help me relate to just about anyone, and He built up my leadership and speaking abilities through KY FFA. None of this was happenstance. None of it was “luck.” Every bit of it was God’s way of preparing me for what He knew He would one day ask of me…
I want you to preach.
You want me to WHAT?!?
Preach.
Let’s establish a few things. I have NO PROBLEM with public speaking; I don’t claim to be particularly good at it, but I’m not afraid of it. Likewise, I have SOME experience with teaching about the Bible; I wrote several lessons for my church’s youth group, I’ve lead a few Bible Study classes, and even while on the Race I’ve been able to teach Sunday School.
In contrast, I come from a background of “women don’t preach.” Plain and simple. So understanding why, when God knows exactly where I come from and how I’ve been raised, He would put this burden on my heart was somewhat confusing for me. What will people say? Will everyone think I’m turning my back on what I’ve been taught? Will my family and friends think I’m nuts?
God, are you sure!?!?
For THREE WEEKS I prayed everyday that what I was feeling was not of God, He would banish the thought from my mind, and for three weeks, I got the same response.
“Is what other people think really worth risking someone’s salvation?”
God knows how to shut me up. Refusing to use a gifting that He has granted me, ignoring a desire to see as many souls as possible come to know Him and clinging to bounded set rules placed on me by MAN, not by GOD, all because I’m scared of what people will think IS NOT WHO GOD HAS RAISED ME TO BE!
“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” -Ephesians 6:19-20
Sunday night, as I stood before a congregation of approximately 70 people and preached about living a life PASSIONATE for God, every past experience that lead to that moment came racing to the forefront of my mind. A conversation with my FFA advisor about what PASSION really is; a painful, but ESPN-worthy catch that demonstrated my PASSION for softball; a preacher’s PASSION for soul-winning that lead him to deliver a sermon while strapped to a cross that would later send me running to the altar; stepping onto New Zealand soil and feeling scared-to-death, yet just knowing that this was the jumping off point for a lifelong PASSION for travel; standing in front of 2500 people in RUPP Arena feeling no fear as I exercised my PASSION for empowering youth to find their own PASSIONS in life!
EVERYTHING HAS PURPOSE!
Isaiah 61:1-4 (the scripture I preached from) highlights what we, as Christians, should truly be PASSIONATE about; first on the list – preaching good news to the poor!
Do I think I’ll make a life or career out of preaching? No, not really. But never again will I question God when I feel Him telling me to do it. His Word is worthy to be proclaimed through ANY vessel, in ANY place, at ANY time. What a privilege! What a responsibility! What a PASSION!
Be Blessed,
Ashlee
