many times have you gotten the opportunity to tune out the rest of the world,
and just sit and rest in God’s presence? Hopefully your answer is “many
times” however knowing America these days, my guess would be a more
accurate, “not enough times…”
I don’t know how it has become so difficult for us as humans to go back to
the basics, the simplicity which is the basis of our relationship with the Holy
Trinity, and remember that the only true thing that matter is just you and God.
We can take comfort, though, in knowing that Jesus struggled with this aspect
as well. If you browse through the gospels, you can see that many times He had
to go away from everyone else, the distractions of the world, in order to find
that peace and serenity with the Almighty. Granted, Jesus did not have iphones,
blackberrys, wifi spots, hbo, tivo, all night clubs, gossip magazines, etc.,
but He had His own set of distractions. The same goes for me even writing this
here in Uganda. I might not have my smart phone, cable, internet in my house, and
surrounded my the American media right now, but it can still be difficult to
put everything aside just to focus my all on Jesus. But as I tell my fellow
disciples on a daily basis: this Christian life is not about making anything easier,
rather making it all worth it.
Our God is so good to us that He knows what we need before the thought
enters our head. Which is why my team was given the wonderful gift of being
able to take a wonderful hike and camping trip with our contact. We packed up
all of our great camping gear and set off to hike. As usual, we had no idea
what we were in for. As we begin our trek, it started to rain, which actually
felt great to us. Then our pastor begins a conversation for us to remember and
think back to all the times in the Bible when Jesus just went away from
everything, in search of some quiet, solemn peace and unity with God. As much
as the Bible and Christian faith stress the importance of community and
accountability, we must not lose sight of the most important relationship –
ours with God. Unless we are personally connecting with Christ on a constant
basis, we won’t be able to connect to anyone else. Ultimately, its just about
you and God. Its about me and God remaining the best of friends. And sometimes
in order to keep the relationship strong, that means spending quality alone
time with one another. Who would have thought that our “awesomely fun camping trip as a
team” would turn into an intercessory revival with the rest of the city of
Mukono? But I guess that is just in World Race fashion…
staying up all night to pray and interceed was not exactly what I wanted to
hear, but it was definitely what I needed. God was able to speak to me there,
on that prayer mountain overlooking the little city we lived in, oh so clearly
about so many things. And as it would have it, he used Matthew 5:1-12, which
some people might know as The Sermon on the Mount or The Beatitudes. Here Jesus
was teaching His disciples some simple basics of the Christian life. With all
the craziness that is our life today, whether in the States or not, sometimes
we can forget those principles that we base our life on. It was about time that
I was reminded!
“Blessed
are the poor in spirit…”
Man, have there been times when I have felt poor in
spirit this year. But I have to remember that I am always rich in the Lord. He
is the ultimate provider and creator of all. In Him, I have everything. So I
will continue to let the Lord bless me in all circumstances, even when I feel
weak and poor, because it is promised that I will one day obtain the kingdom of
heaven.
“Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
There have been many times on this race where I have felt
famished or exhausted. Whether that meant a physical hunger or a spiritual
emptiness, the feelings hurts all the same. It reminds me of “The Desert
Song” by Hillsong. In every situation that we go through, we always have a
reason to praise God. We are called to take joy into every situation, as our
duty as Christians, because we have the amazing joy in our relationship with
Jesus. Even through the desert when we think we cannot go on, God gives us
strength to persevere because our satisfaction is found in Him, and nothing
else.
“Blessed
are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness or when people
insult you…”
I speak with a confidence and boldness about me now that
I did not posses a year ago. I house the Holy Spirit where intimidation and
fear can no longer reside. Sure, I could say that back home I was insulted or
persecuted, but it was for silly things, honestly. It hurt nonetheless, but at
the core of it, it had nothing to do with my faith. However being on this race,
I have been able to witness firsthand spiritual persecution. In the United
States, some people might make fun of you for evangelizing but in other
countries, you could be thrown in jail. People will meet in secret to worship.
There are people across this world who are willing to sacrifice everything and
risk their lives to honor and glorify God. It is promised to us that our reward
in Heaven in great and we should rejoice in that. But am I willing to sacrifice
my hopes, dreams and personal desires on a daily basis to die to myself to
shine for God?
Blessed
are the peacemakers…”
Bible. I am always for peace – probably more than most Miss America
contestants. Maybe because now I realize that peace is not some beautiul
fantasy feeling that will magically come upon us when we need it. Rather, true
peace is a struggle and a fight. Peace starts from within, something that we
must all strive for in order to impact others. This verse says peaceMAKERS, not
peaceRECIEVERS. Peace is something we must create and press into in order to
maintain. Unless we are willing to work hard to keep that peace, it will leave.
We must be warriors for peace, which is why the reward for being a peacemaker
is to be called a Son of God.
We might find ourselves complaining that we cannot hear what God is
speaking to us. God is always speaking, but are we in the best position to
truly listen to Him? Are we willing to turn the tv off, silent the phones, take
off the watch just to sit in the presence of the Almighty Creator. It will
always be a struggle, but it is also completely necessary and worth it. Its
okay if you find it difficult at first, so did I. I needed that camping trip
turned all night prayer-a-thon to shake me back where I belong. I will say that
your community of faith can help with this by offering retreats and conferences
on listening to His voice and finding that quiet place. I know that Emmaus and
Chrysalis are all about this stuff. I will also say that the World Race knows
what its doing, too!
