New reading: Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson
(sequel to In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day)
I cannot explain how timely this book is! Well actually, I can. If you've been keeping up with me, you know that I love my job, but I've been seeking my next task. He's been stirring my heart towards something, but has also not failed to remind me to patiently wait until He finishes this work in me. Hmph. Harder told than done.
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, but really haven't had much time to,
AND have been convicted to be more into His WORD than just books.
Which I still need to do more of. But I know that this is a divine appointment for me
in this season, as many I have read lately have been.
In the second chapter, Pastor Mark explains the situation of a man named Nehemiah.
Since I first heard his story, I have admired him. And I love how Mark compares our lives to his.
He writes, "Maybe you feel a little like Nehemiah. Your passion is Jerusalem, yet you're stuck
in Babylon... here's the best advice I can offer: be the best cupbearer you can be...
One of the greatest acts of worship is keeping a good attitude in a bad situation...
Nehemiah had an ordinary job, but he did the best he could with what he had where he was...
Nehemiah was successful long before he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
I've found that if you're faithful in Babylon, God will bless you a thousand miles away."
And- "He loves leading us down the scenic route because that is where we learn our most
valuable lessons."
He also puts the act of our salvation in a way I've never heard before, and man, does it give me
a new reason to worship His goodness.
The Evidence Against Us:
"Peter's repetitive failures give us 3-dimensional pictures of God's grace.
Peter's impulsiveness led to a lot of moments of vulnerability. One of them happened just
a few hours before his denial. When the mob came to arrest Jesus, Peter pulled out the
sword and cut off the ear of a man named Malchus. Peter gets a bum rap for this,
but you've gotta give him credit. I don't see anyone else coming to Jesus' defense!
Now let me state the obvious: you don't cut off someone's ear and get away with it,
especially if that someone is the servant of the high priest. Peter was in a world
of legal trouble... We tend to ignore this subplot in the story, but it is one of the
clearest pictures of grace in the gospels. Jesus miraculously reversed the irreversible by
reattaching the man's amputated ear. But He did more than heal someone who had come
to crucify Him-- He also destroyed the evidence against Peter. Stop and think about it.
Malchus files suit against Peter, and a stenographer captures the cross-examination.
Malchus says, "Peter cut off my ear."
"Which ear?" the judge asks.
"Malchus says, "My right one."
The judge walks over to the witness stand and examines the ear. "It looks fine to me."
And the case gets thrown out of court for lack of evidence!
Through His crucifixion and resurrection Jesus destroyed the evidence against us.
But He did more than that.
Not only does our sin get paid for out of His account, but all of His righteousness gets credited
to our account.
"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become
the righteousness of God."
It's like Jesus says, "You give me all of your sin. I'll give you all of My righteousness.
And we'll call it even." There is no greater moment and no greater feeling than
all of our guilt meeting all of God's grace.
And then, it gets even better, he talks about Paul and his trials of being shipwrecked
and snake-bit. All of his crazy missionary journeys were completely ordained by God,
even when it seemed as though nothing was going right. He uses the term "disoriented."
We are used to having orientations for the new things we experience: jobs, school, whatever.
But Jesus' often used disorientation to teach His disciples.
"He usually disorients us so He can reorient us."
It's literally speaking volumes to me, encouraging me greatly. I have felt disoriented
many times in my life (in my short 20 years so far). But He often loads me up with
revelation and wisdom and intimacy during those times, better than any other season could
ever bring. He says, "But the upside is that it causes us to seek God with a raw intensity
that cannot be manufactured any other way. Disorientation has a way of driving us to our
knees. And that is one reason why the bad things that happen to us can actually turn into
the best things that happen to us." But our response is everything. If we don't rightly
respond to our shipwrecks and rely on God, things can quickly go downhill.
That is when we let failure cage us, which is precisely what Mark is trying to steer us away from.
I am really inspired. I've been thinking, what could God possibly have for me?
The thoughts that come to my mind make me want to stay exactly where I am,
in my comforts and in my shell. Well, what's left of my shell.
I'm trying to hold on to it as much as possible! Only out of fear. Even though He has
used me countless times to prove that He can, I still hold back. As I was drifting
off to sleep the other night, I imagined myself on a stage preaching to thousands.
I'm not sure if this is normal... but I do this a lot. And that scares me. I understand that
there is such a thing as healthy fear, but I think I'm way past that! It's not that
I'm not ready for that ( in factI don't think we're ever "ready" for anything), if He
should choose to use me in that way, it just frightens me.
I've never enjoyed attention. Hate being called out, even complimented, in front of people.
Insecurity would probably be the psychological word for that, huh?
I feel like whatever this next job is, it's going to be a big one. Possibly huge.
Not that we can compare jobs of eternity like we compare jobs of this world.
I believe every single thing we do has eternal value. But for me, it will be huge,
in terms of personal growth and ministry development. Being here has been a significant
growth process for me. Oh Lord, what is around the corner...
My soul waits for you, My God.
I've come far to find you here
In this place will I draw near.
And Your Spirit soars me
to the highest heights.
I will not look back
I'll keep trusting you.
For I know You are faithful.
For I know You are faithful, My God.
From the land of the barren
we'll cry out for rain.
Fill our hearts God.
I'll keep trusting You...
No comments:
Post a Comment