Often times we feel trapped. There are situations that we just can’t seem to shake and we keep falling back into the same habits as before. We often times become imprisoned to the lifestyle we lead, the people we hang out with, or the choices we make.
I have felt trapped for a very long time in my life. I grew up in a Christian home with a family who wanted the best for me. I have imprisoned myself to the “social norms” of Christianity; reading the Bible, going to church, obeying my parents (as much as one does, lets be honest with ourselves there are times we go against them), and serve the church to the best capability that I could.
I became known as the “good Christian girl” in school and even throughout college, because I chose not to join the party scene, didn’t use fowl language, and dressed modestly. I ended up placing my faith into a box…scratch that a prison. I placed my faith, my identity in Christ in a prison cell where I began to suffocate…I needed to find myself again….
I knew that there was something so much more to my life, my faith, than what I was doing. I became so dry, everything seemed so routine and mundane. I knew there was something more, something real and raw that I wasn’t getting anymore, but the question that kept wrapping around in my head was “how do I make my faith come alive, what am I missing?” I would come home some days and tell my mom “I need a change, I don’t know what, but I know I need a change.” I didn’t know what to do the only answer that I could come up with was pray. So I prayed, I asked God to place something in my life or to change my life so that I wasn’t a “dead Christian” anymore; that I would have life and substance to my soul again.
God has done so much more than what I ever thought would happen in my life. He opened the doors of opportunity and I jumped in to the ocean of his love to swim deep and see what he had in store for me on the World Race. After being on the race now for almost six months I am happy to say that my life, my faith is no longer dead, it’s alive, living and active just like the Holy Spirit, and it feels so good!
Christianity is not about the rules, or the fact that yes its a religion, its about an intimate relationship with Christ. Following Jesus has changed my life drastically. God has taught me that I am strong, I have a voice and I need to be bold with it. He has transformed my life and has shown me that I am worth fighting for even when the world around me tells me I’m not (future blog to come about that one…)! I cannot say that it has been easy, its been hard and rough, but so rewarding and satisfying through it all and I still have so much to learn. God is ever faithful and fulfills his promises even when we cannot see what the outcome really will be. Time, and time again God has been showing me that spiritual blessings come wrapped in trials, adverse circumstances are normal in a fallen world. Expect them each day, but rejoice in the face of hardships, for God has overcome them all!
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”–John 16:33
The question becomes, how do I then make sure my faith doesn’t become dead again? Because I can’t always go on an 11 month missions trip to 11 different countries. The answer that I have come up with is that not only do I need to feed those, but be fed, to make sure I don’t dry myself out. As well knowing that sometimes I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone, try something new and challenging; to shake things up a bit. To be willing to go off the map, to shift gears and go off roading rather than following the norm of what is expected. To say yes to what gets me excited and that has God’s fingerprints all over them.
Will you join me in that challenge? To be willing to go off roading and not worry about what others will think even when we are just doing what the Lord has set a passion for in our hearts. Because we need to be willing to take adventures to know where we belong. “We are called to be bold!” (Joshua 1:9) We need to ask God to give us the wisdom to know what must be done and then the courage to do it. To say “God, I trust you with all my heart. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Even when it’s not where I planned. Lead me and I will follow.”
Let’s be bold like Isaiah when he heard the voice of the Lord, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Let’s give ourselves fully to the adventure of today is what the Lord is saying. Walk boldly along the path of life, relying on God. Let’s be confident, because of His presence accompanies us all the days of our lives-and onward to eternity.
