This is my New Year 2016 edition of my World Race blog! A lot of things have happened to me since my last blog. I graduated college with a degree in Marine Biology, I turned 24, Christmas and New Year’s have passed. As some of you know, I spent Dec. 28th to Jan. 1st at a Christian conference called Radiate in Washington D.C.
I wanted to share with you all a little bit of what God has been speaking to my heart at Radiate in two parts. Part 1 is about Paul Tripp and Curt Allen’s talks about what to do when the going gets tough and how to rely on God during these times. Part 2 is about Shelby Abbott’s break-out session God, Dating, and Singleness and what God has been speaking to my heart about this area in my life.
Part 1: When the Going Gets Tough
Paul Tripp speaking at Radiate (above)
Both Paul Tripp and Curt Allen talked about the Bible story in Mark 6: 45-52 and Matthew 22-33 where Jesus walks on water. In this story, Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him in a boat. Later that night, Jesus sees his disciples struggling to get across the lake because the wind is against them. Jesus walks on the water to them, and they cry out to him, scared, because they think he is a ghost. Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
In the Matthew version Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus tells him to come, and Peter walks on water to meet Jesus. Matthew 14:30-33: “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Something I learned during Paul Tripp’s talk is that “Jesus put his disciples in difficult situations in order to produce in them what they could not produce on their own.” According to Curt Allen, Jesus could have told the wind to stop whenever he wanted. But instead, he goes out to meet his disciples in the midst of the storm, walking on water so that they may believe in him and believe that he is the Son of God. Paul Tripp explained that Jesus wasn’t after the difficulty, he was after the hearts of the people in the mess.
How many times have we personally asked God to just take us out of this mess we’re in? We want to grow in our faith and grow as people, but we don’t want to have to experience hardship to get there. We might not see it at the time, but there is always a reason we are going through a difficult situation in our lives. If you look back at hardships in your past, I’m sure you would agree. These situations make us stronger, more resilient, and more reliant on God. Sometimes when everything is going great, you forget to thank God for all the blessings you have. Even if everything is going wrong in your life right now, I’m sure you can think of one good thing that Our Heavenly Father has given you. If you are reading this right now, God gave you the ability to see, to read, and He gave you another day of life. God gives and He takes away. Sometimes we don’t think it’s fair or we don’t appreciate what He has given us, but He is always here with us, watching over us and making us into the people we need to be. I forget which speaker said this at the conference, but it will now forever be on my heart, “Everyone wants to grow. But the truth is, growing pains hurt.” Paul Trip pointed out, “Hardness of heart is resistance to change because we are satisfied with who we are and where we are at.” He also said that faith is a surrender of your heart to God.
At these words, I felt utterly convicted. I want to change, I want to grow closer to God, and I want to always do His will and not my own. But sometimes, I am resistant to change. I metaphorically grit my teeth and lock my heels when I feel that God is asking me to step out in faith a new way. I’m not going to lie, it’s scary having to approach people and ask them to join my support team for the World Race. I have always been introverted, shy around new people, and I don’t like asking people for money. But God has been showing me that it’s not others’ money or my money. All money belongs to Him. Where He has called me, He will also provide abundantly for me. In order for that to happen, I have to trust God, step out in faith, and ask. God is also breaking me out of my comfort zone in many ways. During this past semester, I helped lead the Stockton Christian Fellowship worship team and I spoke twice in front of groups of people, once about the World Race and once about evangelism. I have never liked being the center of attention, let alone singing for people once a week or speaking for large groups of people. God is stretching me and using me in new ways. I prayed for Him to give me the strength and courage to do these things whenever I got nervous, and He has blessed me with comfort and the ability to speak and sing in front of others. I am glad to be able to glorify Him in these new ways.
If you take away anything from this, just remember that sometimes God puts us in difficult situations so that we will rely on him more and become stronger as a result. Towards the end of his message, Paul Tripp said, “On days when your life seems anything but easy, when everything around you seems broken, God’s grace prevails.” To go along with this, Curt Allen concluded his message by saying, “True faith is trusting in God when the wind only seems to blow harder.”
Paul Tripp speaking at Radiate. The theme was God #withus
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Thank you so much to everyone who is praying for me, supporting me, and reading my blogs! If you would like to subscribe to receive email updates, click the “Subscribe for Updates” button under my name and enter in your email address. If you would like to support me, click the “Support Me!” button on the top right or contact me for more information.
I also want to say thank you so much to my parents who gave me this tent and sleeping bag for Christmas! These are the first pieces of gear that I’ve gotten for the World Race and it makes my dream seem so much closer now. Love you guys!
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