This is my last message to my students at Grace Bible Church… at least for now.
To my misfits: I love you all so much. i posted this so you never forget.
In the story of Jonah, God says he wants Jonah to go to Ninevah. Jonah tries to put it off. He runs from God’s plan and he ends up thrown into the sea where he is eaten by a giant fish. He has three days to think about the choice that he made to run from God’s plan. Eventually he remembers that God is a rockstar and he is like alright God I will go and do what you wanted me to do in the first place.
I probably started this message 100 times trying to figure out just what to say. But I don’t know if the words will be right. It is my prayer that they are. It is my prayer that they come out the right way and that you would hear them well. It is my prayer that you would not just listen, but understand the words that I am saying.
I want start this by saying that it is my desire and my prayer that each one of you fall desperately in love with God. Not just one time, but every single day of your lives. Right now it might seem hard to fall in love with God every day… some of you might not even have any clue as to what I mean when I say that, so just hang with me and I will explain.
When I say falling in love with God every day I mean first that each morning you wake up thankful to have survived the night. Thankful that you have a roof over your head. Thankful that you have food in your fridge that will give you the nourishment that you need for the day. Thankful that you have people who provide for your immediate needs. Thankful that someone loves you. Thankful for your very breath.
As you breathe close your eyes. Take in a deep breath. Think of all the muscles and the different molecules and cells in your body that cause the good air to come into your lungs and forces the bad air out. God counted that breath. God knew you would take it. When I say falling in love with God every day I mean realizing that it was him who gives you this breath and even if all you do is just lay there and breath, that is a gift from God for you to be thankful for.
When I say falling in love with God every day I mean seeing the way he has worked in your life. I mean taking your life story and only using it for the glory of God. Take your life and every little thing you have gone through good or bad instead of using it for attention or sympathy taking it and saying that God is the creator and author of every thing and that in every situation you will praise him. That he gets all the glory for your whole life, for your whole story.
When I say falling in love with God every day I mean praying that your relationship with him is your strongest and closest relationship in your whole life. I mean that when you pray you are honest and genuine. When you are speaking to God and something makes you mad you tell him or when you feel incredibly blessed you say so. I mean finding that moment when you realize you are not ashamed of the life that God has asked you to live because his plans are so much greater than anything you could come up with on your own.
I want you to know that from the very depths of my heart that I pray this for you every day. I pray that you would know God intimately and not be afraid to have a relationship with him because of what people will think. I pray that you have the courage to live your life in a manner that is pleasing to God. I pray that you guys are the ones leading your friends.
Lately I have been realizing that even in my own life it is hard to fall in love with God every day. But it comes back to our theme of the year. Choices. The choices that we make every day effect us, right? So, what if I make the choice every day to love God more than I did the day before? What if I choose to take the road that he picks instead of the road I would rather take? When I fall in love with God every day I find myself more joyful, more loving, more patient, more kind, than a day when I choose not to fall in love with Him.
Falling in love with God means that we live a radical life for our Savior.
Sometimes falling in love with God in this way requires hard choices to be made. You all know about my mission trip that I have coming up. That by itself was a hard choice to make. But I know that God placed this opportunity in my life. I know that it is in his plan for me to go on this mission trip. I don’t know why yet, but the reason why doesn’t matter. Falling in love with God every day means that you follow what he has called you to do, even when it doesn’t make sense. In order to prepare for this trip that God has called me to, I believe it is essential for me to take the last few months before I leave spending as much time with my family as possible and fundraising. That means that I will be moving back in with my parents, getting a job, and going around speaking to other churches telling them about what I am doing. What that also means is that I am moving out of Newaygo. You already knew that I would be leaving, we all just kind of thought it would be later. In order to make the best use of the time I have, this week will be my last week leading youth group.
I know some of you will be sad about this. It is okay to cry. Some of you will be mad about it. That is okay too. But I want you to realize that I am fighting every human emotion and following God’s will for my life. If I had it my way, I would stay here for a very long time. But God has said that my time here is up. God’s timing is impossible for us to understand. Sometimes it feels like it sucks. But it is always a good choice to say “yes Lord” when you are absolutely certain that God has said to go. I am sad for this. I have absolutely loved my time here with you. I love each and every one of you so much. You are irreplaceable in my heart and you will stay there always. I love you guys. God has big plans for each one of you and it is my prayer that you learn from this that following God’s will for your life will always be the best choice.
Misfits for life.
It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, "God bless you." When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better. 1 Corinthians 4:9-13
