2019!!!!!!! THIS is the Y E A R that Jesus has made, so let us REJOICE in it. For me personally, this is a big year- full of change (PPL, I AM GRADUATING IN MAY !!!!!!), full of seeking and seeing Jesus in a new light, annnddd full of THE WORLD RACE GAP YEAR!!!! I have seen Jesus so evident and SO faithful, in many areas in life; however, recently, I have seen Him show up like never before in my time alone with Him. In my last blog, I talked about JUST. SHOWING. UP. because Jesus will meet you and I hope you have seen that like I have because WOW, how awesome is the God we serve????
I want to continue on with this thought because I was reading in Acts this week and I read a story, one that I have read on multiple occasions, but have not received like I did this time. I am going to start from the beginning- Acts 8:26-31 and 34-38. “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road-the desert road- that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of the Kandake. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I unless someone explains it to me?’ he said. So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him…… The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet speaking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of me being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”
Friends, I know that was a lot. If you are still with me, YOU. ARE. AWESOME. I want to first acknowledge the VERY first verse. The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and told him to go. The angel did not tell him why, nor did the angel tell him what was going to happen; however, scripture does not say Philip complained or asked questions- instead, Scripture tells us that “he started out.” He went. So he comes upon this man who is sitting in a chariot, reading Isaiah. Once again, the Spirit told him to GO, and what do you think he did? He went. By being obedient, Philip was able to translate scripture to him, later leading him to share the Gospel. Alllllll because Philip “started out.”
I want to encourage you in whatever season you are in to “start out,” and just GO. I have a friend who is interning in a middle school currently, previously thinking he wanted to pursue secondary education. A few weeks before he started this internship, but after he committed, he knew it was unlikely he would pursue a job in this field. Buuuttt he always has a good attitude, as he did about this. Unfortunately, the first day was definitely a case of the “first-day, worst-days.” He was no longer looking forward to this, but counting down the days until it was over. I read this story and all I could think about his situation and probably many of yours.
You are called to GO, but things have come up, and maybe you have questioned why you have to go THERE and do THAT thing. You know you don’t want to be there, and quite frankly, Jesus knows too. I know that is not-so encouraging, BUT in this case, my friend is obviously not there for him. He knows he is not going to pursue this job, but maybe a custodian or a lunch lady or a students needs the hope of Jesus that he has. Maybe in your situation, the co-worker that is not your favorite or even your boss needs the hope and the light of the world that you carry around with you.
So this week, be intentional. GO, and let Jesus use you how He would, not how you would. Don’t get wrapped up in your plan, but instead: God, not MY will, but YOURS be done. Be obedient. Love God, serve God. Love people, serve people.
