I would love to complain once again about how tired I am and how much I’ve sacrificed this year, but Jesus has some other stuff to say. You see our squad keeps saying, “I know you are tired”, “It’s been ten months and we are all tired”, “We’ve sacrificed so much this year to serve the Lord” and I’ve been realizing that we are a bunch of pansies. Sorry guys, I love you all and I’m definitely including myself in those statements, but it’s about time for us to own up to the God we serve.
I was sitting in an international church two weeks ago, talking to a couple and asking them how long they had been here. Five years! FIVE YEARS! And we want to complain about ten months? Jesus called me out in that moment; “Madisson, why are you complaining? And how dare you say you are tired? I called you to leave home for ONLY eleven months! That’s nothing! In the whole scheme of your life, this is only one year out of 24 so far, it’s nothing! Are you going to complain about being tired for the next 50-60 years as you serve me? Am I that exhausting?”
Okay, rebuke, I get it Jesus. But I’ve been traveling around the world for a year. Every month changing cultures, community, languages, food, currency and even teams, that’s pretty exhausting right? I mean a year of never coming into a place of familiarity, isn’t that exhausting?
“Probably as exhausting as leaving heaven, putting on flesh and coming to earth to die for people who don’t want to listen to you and who want to kill you. No longer being recognized as the all powerful God that you are, yea I’d say what you are experiencing is not too exhausting.”
But God, think of ALL the sacrifices I’ve made! I made so many sacrifices to serve You and to follow You!
“Child, do you still not understand Me? This has been a year of BLESSINGS. I have poured out so many blessings on you that you call sacrifices. I’ve given you so many opportunities to lean on me this year.”
God has been revealing to me this past 10 months about what “freedom” and “rewards” really are in His sight. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 9:16-18:
“For if I preach the gospel, I have NO reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. If I do so willingly, I have a reward; if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? TO PREACH THE GOSPEL AND OFFER IT FREE OF CHARGE and not make full use of my authority in the gospel.”
I’m sorry, what does God consider a reward for us? Preaching the gospel and offering it free of charge. That means that I’ve specifically spent the last 10 months being continuously rewarded by the Lord because that is exactly what I’ve been doing!
Then He reminded me what freedom is.
“For you are called to freedom, brothers, only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, BUT SERVE ONE ANOTHER THROUGH LOVE.” – Galatians 5:13
This year has been an opportunity of purest freedom where I have had so many sweet moments to serve people around me and in that I’ve been granted freedom. Freedom to God is serving others and serving those around me.
So to take this year and mark it as a year I sacrificed to the Lord would be, as Emily Watkins says, ignorant. Instead, I’m going to view this year as one of endless rewards, freedom, and blessings.
Thanks for calling me out Jesus, I hope He calls you out too.
