Now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon… There you will be RESCUED. There the Lord will REDEEM you. Micah 4:10
Why is it that we leave, get out of a city and go to camp, conferences and retreats out in the country? What is it about trees and open skies that bring us closer to God? Why can’t we feel the Spirit and devote ourselves to the Lord in the concrete jungle the same way we do in cabins or tents?
Angkor Wat at sunset
There is something so freeing about getting out, away from our every day routines and obligations. And God was asking this of His people long before it meant going without tv or internet. The Lord did this when He called Moses away to a burning bush and when He called the Israelites out of Egypt, rescuing them only to keep them in the wilderness for forty years before reaching the promised land. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, both, spent time in solitude and out of the city. Away from civilization and society, fully devoted to the words of the Almighty. There is something about getting out of our normal lives that pushes us to reflect, meditate, be aware.
I have played a role in camping ministry for a long time, as both camper and staff. It was where God had called me for a season. But, in God-fashion, just as I was getting comfortable, He called me out. I needed rescue from the mundane and a breaking of the chains of complacency. I had created a box for my life with a nice compartment for God to hang out in. I pretended to let Him rule my life completely, but I manipulated everything to fit the mold I had created. If it was convenient I did it, if not I didn’t. It is amazing how much more I am aware of the Lord, His spirit, and His workings when surrounded by Buddhists temples and spirit houses, than I ever was in America’s Bible Belt. He is taking me out of normal life and is making it different. Between teaching English, children’s ministry, feeding the hungry, and even physical labor, I am able to spend hours, literally hours, studying His Word, worshipping, or be on my face approaching His throne with praise, confession and supplication. I have never devoted this kind of time to intercession before in my life. I am learning more about myself and about living in community. I am learning to be bold and fearless in proclaiming His name. In His name, I am healing the sick and casting out demons. It took God ripping away everything that was normal- my ‘city life’- and sending me out, not to just an open field, but to an open world. And out I go.
It’s like riding a bike with a flat tire. Day after day you struggle and push to pedal, but it doesn’t ride right, but it is all you know and it’s what you have. Then, you take it to a bike mechanic, he fixes the flat and on that first pedal away from the the shop you realize you’ve been working so hard to pedal a broken bike. It was an easy fix, but you were so busy riding that you didn’t even know any better. Once you’re on the new tire, you feel a huge difference, a freedom even, as if you are invincible and can ride anywhere. This is what it’s like when God sends us out and brings us to Him. He brings light to our transgressions, hardships, and weaknesses. He exposes them, then says, “Child, come to me. In me there is freedom.” he makes us aware of our fragility and gives us hope and strength. He REDEEMS and RESCUES us.
But this sending out doesn’t always look the same. It isn’t always to camping grounds in the Piney Woods. There is a growth to be had away from what we know as normal. Sometimes this sending out isn’t into the quiet, peaceful place. It isn’t always amidst lush nature and scenery. Sometimes- more than we realize- God sends us out “to camp” in the filthy slums of over-populated India, the villages of Thailand, or with the Aboriginal people of Australia who now find themselves on the streets dealing with addictions and poverty.
But this sending out doesn’t always look the same. It isn’t always to camping grounds in the Piney Woods. There is a growth to be had away from what we know as normal. Sometimes this sending out isn’t into the quiet, peaceful place. It isn’t always amidst lush nature and scenery. Sometimes- more than we realize- God sends us out “to camp” in the filthy slums of over-populated India, the villages of Thailand, or with the Aboriginal people of Australia who now find themselves on the streets dealing with addictions and poverty.
Village store, Cocktlock Village, Cambodia
I have played a role in camping ministry for a long time, as both camper and staff. It was where God had called me for a season. But, in God-fashion, just as I was getting comfortable, He called me out. I needed rescue from the mundane and a breaking of the chains of complacency. I had created a box for my life with a nice compartment for God to hang out in. I pretended to let Him rule my life completely, but I manipulated everything to fit the mold I had created. If it was convenient I did it, if not I didn’t. It is amazing how much more I am aware of the Lord, His spirit, and His workings when surrounded by Buddhists temples and spirit houses, than I ever was in America’s Bible Belt. He is taking me out of normal life and is making it different. Between teaching English, children’s ministry, feeding the hungry, and even physical labor, I am able to spend hours, literally hours, studying His Word, worshipping, or be on my face approaching His throne with praise, confession and supplication. I have never devoted this kind of time to intercession before in my life. I am learning more about myself and about living in community. I am learning to be bold and fearless in proclaiming His name. In His name, I am healing the sick and casting out demons. It took God ripping away everything that was normal- my ‘city life’- and sending me out, not to just an open field, but to an open world. And out I go.
What about you? Where has God sent you away to teach you? Maybe God is sending, but you have yet to go…
English Class, Cocktlock Village, Cambodia
