Another month of the Race came and went in the blink of an eye.
A few days ago our squad left Laos and crossed into Thailand, our last stop in Asia before heading to South America, our final continent of the Race. Wowza.
During our time in Laos, my team worked with local Christians in building the church. We’ve done a lot of “building the Church” in the spiritual sense on our Race. But this time around, it was a little different. In Laos, our team got to get our hands dirty laying brick to help build what will become an underground church.
In Laos, the church is heavily regulated by the government. When a church is formed and becomes officially recognized by the government, government pastors are sent to the church to monitor exactly what is being taught. While Laotians have religious freedom, their expression is heavily stifled and monitored. This has lead to the formation of “underground churches” in the country, secret churches not monitored by the government.
The men and women creating these spaces of worship are putting their everything on the line for the Lord. By creating a space for others to come and learn about, worship, and connect with the Lord, they’re risking their livelihood, putting their families on the line, and risking jail time.
They’ve put their hands up in surrender to the Lord and said “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.” They’ve handed Him every ounce of their futures. They’ve forfeited their plans for His. They’ve chosen the hard thing when it was the right thing. They’ve built their lives around pleasing The Lord before pleasing anyone else.
While we were in Laos, I read through 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel we run into King Saul. Saul was appointed by the Lord as the king of Israel. Saul is a good king for a time. He listens to the Lord. He obeys His commandments. He leads the Israelites in the way of the Lord.
But at some point things change. Saul becomes more worried about the opinions of the people around him than the opinion of the Lord. He becomes more interested in pleasing people than pleasing God. And when He does, He stops listening to the Lord in favor of listening to man.
In 1 Samuel 15:24, Saul says, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
It’s then that the Lord begins making a way for a new king for Israel, King David.
David wasn’t perfect. He messed up just as much as you and I do. Like us, he fell down, got back up and fell down again. But looking at scripture, we know one thing for sure. David sought the Lord.
He asked the Lord for direction. And when the Lord gave him that direction, he listened. He cared more about pleasing the Lord than anything else. Unlike Saul, he didn’t let the opinions of the people around him interfere with what the Lord asked him to do. When the Lord said “jump,” David asked, “how high?”.
The men and women building the underground church in countries like Laos have the heart of David.
They have hearts that are willing to abandon all things of this world for whatever the Lord asks of them. When the people around them wonder why they’re so willing to go against their government or question them for being willing to risk so much, they don’t bat an eye. They keep their gaze fixed on the Lord and building His Church. They care more about pleasing the Lord than their lives making sense to the people looking onward.
I want to walk with the same heart of David that they so easily embody. I want the Lord’s delight in my life being poured out for Him to be my sole ambition.
But so often I get stuck in a Saul mindset.
“Lord, if I listen to you on this one, I’m going to disappoint ___.”
“But this doesn’t make sense.”
“What will people think if I ___?”
And that’s when the record scratches and He stops me in my tracks. He reminds me that He’s a good Father. That He has it all under control, which means I don’t have to. He reminds me that I can stop trying to make everything make sense and trust that it already does.
He whispers into my heart, “Sweet girl, why are you more worried about disappointing them than you are about disappointing me? I’ve given you the heart of David. Start acting like it.”
I’m trying to start acting like it. Little by little. Step by step.
Just like the men and women building the underground church who have built their lives around pleasing the Lord above all else, He has given you the heart of David.
Are you ready to start acting like it?
