“Trust in the Lord and
do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in
the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in
Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and
wait patiently for Him…” Psalm 37:3-7
I
have always thought that if I fully surrendered to God my life would be
boring. It seemed to me that being
a Christian and living sold out wouldn’t be any fun, and my life would be
devoid of adventure and excitement.
That may have been one of the biggest lies I have ever fallen victim too.
Saying
yes to missions was a big leap of faith for me. It was a decision I fought and wrestled with, but it was
something I was clearly called to. I wanted to hold on to my ideas what my life should look
like. White knuckled, fists
clenched, and full of fear I stubbornly ignored the cry in my heart, that pit
in my stomach that said “Take up your cross and follow me.” I ignored the voice
that told me I needed to die to myself. I pushed it further and further away
because I believed the lie and thought it meant I had to give up my life and be
boring. The process of
surrendering was a scary leap of faith, an exercise of trust that my Father’s
plans for my life were better than the things I was holding on to. Now that I have been on the race for
two months, the view from the other side of that scary decision looks
drastically different. I now see
that living the life God planned for me is the most exciting, adventurous,
fulfilling, and empowering experience I have ever lived. The beautiful part is that it isn’t
because I am traveling the world. It is because I am bringing HOPE. Circumventing the globe just happens to
be a bonus. I never knew that my relationship with Him would go deeper than I
ever imagined it could. I never
knew that God not only wanted me to bring freedom to others, but also
experience it. I never knew that
by surrendering myself, God would take the things I struggle with and change my
heart. I never knew the purpose,
destiny, and contentment He had planned for me. I never knew the FULLNESS and abundant life I could have. God was just waiting for me to let go of
the lie so He could give me the desires of my heart.
I
should be clear, I am giving up lots of things. I’ve realized that I haven’t given up anything up that still
looks desirable. God is asking me to give up my pride, my insecurities, my
harsh words, my self-centeredness, my control, and my fears. Instead of white knuckles and clinched
fists, I now have open hands asking that He would TAKE IT ALL. The beauty is HE DOES TAKE IT and He is
changing me and refining me from the inside out. His desire all along has been to take these things but
replace them with blessings. He is replacing them with confidence, joy, peace,
freedom, identity, and restoration.
I am walking in a life in which I bring hope, speak life, encourage, and
love in a way I never have before because I am experiencing HIS love in a
radical way!
this journey hard? YES!!! Is dying
to myself easy? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But letting go is the most freeing and
fulfilling experience I have ever had.
So I ask you this, what are you holding on to? What are the things in your life you are called to do but
don’t because you let yourself get in the way? What desires of your heart would you be blessed with if you
just let go of little things and walked in His love and freedom? I don’t know what that journey would
looks like for you personally, what you struggle with, what God will ask you to
“give up”. But I do know He is a
BIG God. The faithful Lord who says that “he will never leave us nor forsake
us”. He is waiting for you to jump, and if you take that leap of faith, God
will meet you where you are and give you an abundant life like you could NEVER
IMAGINE.
THE GORGE… Leap of Faith
