Reason #541
Sometimes God asks us to do really radical things. Things we never imagined ourselves doing. Situations we never saw ourselves in. Two months into marriage, and Aaron and I have been faced with the challenge of radical living. As I've blogged about quite a few times, we are reading through the book 'Radical' with our Sunday school class. This book has rocked me to the core every week, and it's been a tough read. I was joking with Aaron that we should have waited to read this book a few years into marriage rather than right off the bat. Maybe we should have gone with something a little more easy going and simple. But I have to believe that Lord brought this book to us early on because He's got some plans for us that may not make sense. He may be asking us to do things that don't necessarily seem rational. And people may look at us and think, "Really? You are really thinking of doing such things?" But God's ways are higher, and there's a reason He lays things on our hearts.
A few weeks ago we read a chapter about going and spreading the gospel. This one really threw me for a loop and turned into a painful discussion. Because Aaron and I bounced around the idea of closing up shop and shipping ourselves across seas, but it just didn't sit right with us. There was something missing, and that something was called peace. And so this discussion about doing the right thing, advancing the gospel, became less than enjoyable. And as I look back on that discussion, I realized that we were so frustrated because we were just trying to figure out what it was God was asking us to do. We wanted to do something radical for Jesus, to live our lives in a manner that is consistent with service, humility, and sacrifice, but how? What was the thing that God was laying on our hearts? It seemed pretty radical to us to move anywhere outside of Lubbock, and we both agreed that we wanted to find a way to spread the Lord's love outside of our little circle, but we felt a pull to stay here. A desire to continue to dig deeper roots where we are, and we were more than irritated that we couldn't put our finger on it.
Well, on the way to church today, I was reading the last few pages of this week's chapter out loud and I got to a particular sentence where my heart skipped a beat. I got a lump in my throat, and I had to pause a second so that I didn't cry. It was the strangest rush of emotion, and I thought it was kind of weird. We went into Sunday school and I kept thinking about that sentence. I wondered if Aaron had heard the same thing I heard while reading it. I wondered if God poked and prodded His heart, too? And I thought to myself, "I highly doubt he is going to be very open to this potential way of service right now. I can already see how this discussion may very well go, and I don't think we'll get far with it."
We came home from lunch and I asked Aaron what he thought about the lesson. Low and behold, the very thing God had laid on my heart was the very thing Aaron mentioned. I was totally and completely shocked. And Aaron, himself, was, too. He was as shocked that I felt the same way he did. And we realized this was it. This was the radical thing we felt like God was asking us to do. Something neither one of us ever considered, and something we know sounds completely crazy and a tad bit irrational. And although we can come up with a lot of reasons why we shouldn't do it, we can come up with so many more reasons why we should. And I've realized that God has been preparing my heart for this very moment for weeks. I've been bombarded with all sorts of emotions and seemingly crazy thoughts for a few months, and I've wondered why. Today, it made sense.
This is going to turn into a cliffhanger post. One of those where you're thinking, "So... what is it? What is this very thing she is referring to that is so radical? This is Lubbock. Nothing crazy goes on here. It's hard to get that radical in the bible belt." I apologize, but you'll just have to wait. You'll have to wait because we have to wait. We have to pray and search our hearts and do some research of our own, but in time you'll know. Whatever it is God does decide to do in our lives will be no secret. But the challenge now is to maintain the same level of excitement and enthusiasm as we have today. To not fall back into routine and forget about it. To not allow selfishness to take over, as it usually does, and to pursue this with all of our hearts. To be honest, I'm a little nervous to even blog about this tonight and create more accountability for us, but I suppose it can't hurt.
And so maybe God is calling you to do something really radical too. It may not be radical to everyone or even seem radical to the average Joe, but to you, it does. And if He is, there's a reason for it. God doesn't ask us to do anything He, himself, wouldn't. And if you want to look more and more like Jesus, life's not going to necessarily be easy, comfortable, and convenient. I think we can all agree Jesus' life sure wasn't. And so, with all things, we have a choice. Aaron and I don't ever have to do anything radical. We don't have to change a thing or do anything differently than we are doing now. But we want to make His name great, and we want to make His name known. We want to see God move and act in ways we never have, and we want to experience Him on a greater scale than we've ever known. We want to live out scripture rather than just simply knowing scripture. That only happens when we step out on faith and get out of our little selfish circle. That only happens when we seek God's face and open our eyes to the world around us, specifically to those made in God's own image. And so we're aware now of needs that must be met, of what God is asking us to do, and although I know we'll start on this new journey and have moments where we question why we decided to do this in the first place, God's blessings will be far greater than we would have ever known otherwise, and that's really what excites us the most!
#541 - For the courage He gives us to live radically.
"When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" - John 15:10-11
A few weeks ago we read a chapter about going and spreading the gospel. This one really threw me for a loop and turned into a painful discussion. Because Aaron and I bounced around the idea of closing up shop and shipping ourselves across seas, but it just didn't sit right with us. There was something missing, and that something was called peace. And so this discussion about doing the right thing, advancing the gospel, became less than enjoyable. And as I look back on that discussion, I realized that we were so frustrated because we were just trying to figure out what it was God was asking us to do. We wanted to do something radical for Jesus, to live our lives in a manner that is consistent with service, humility, and sacrifice, but how? What was the thing that God was laying on our hearts? It seemed pretty radical to us to move anywhere outside of Lubbock, and we both agreed that we wanted to find a way to spread the Lord's love outside of our little circle, but we felt a pull to stay here. A desire to continue to dig deeper roots where we are, and we were more than irritated that we couldn't put our finger on it.
Well, on the way to church today, I was reading the last few pages of this week's chapter out loud and I got to a particular sentence where my heart skipped a beat. I got a lump in my throat, and I had to pause a second so that I didn't cry. It was the strangest rush of emotion, and I thought it was kind of weird. We went into Sunday school and I kept thinking about that sentence. I wondered if Aaron had heard the same thing I heard while reading it. I wondered if God poked and prodded His heart, too? And I thought to myself, "I highly doubt he is going to be very open to this potential way of service right now. I can already see how this discussion may very well go, and I don't think we'll get far with it."
We came home from lunch and I asked Aaron what he thought about the lesson. Low and behold, the very thing God had laid on my heart was the very thing Aaron mentioned. I was totally and completely shocked. And Aaron, himself, was, too. He was as shocked that I felt the same way he did. And we realized this was it. This was the radical thing we felt like God was asking us to do. Something neither one of us ever considered, and something we know sounds completely crazy and a tad bit irrational. And although we can come up with a lot of reasons why we shouldn't do it, we can come up with so many more reasons why we should. And I've realized that God has been preparing my heart for this very moment for weeks. I've been bombarded with all sorts of emotions and seemingly crazy thoughts for a few months, and I've wondered why. Today, it made sense.
This is going to turn into a cliffhanger post. One of those where you're thinking, "So... what is it? What is this very thing she is referring to that is so radical? This is Lubbock. Nothing crazy goes on here. It's hard to get that radical in the bible belt." I apologize, but you'll just have to wait. You'll have to wait because we have to wait. We have to pray and search our hearts and do some research of our own, but in time you'll know. Whatever it is God does decide to do in our lives will be no secret. But the challenge now is to maintain the same level of excitement and enthusiasm as we have today. To not fall back into routine and forget about it. To not allow selfishness to take over, as it usually does, and to pursue this with all of our hearts. To be honest, I'm a little nervous to even blog about this tonight and create more accountability for us, but I suppose it can't hurt.
And so maybe God is calling you to do something really radical too. It may not be radical to everyone or even seem radical to the average Joe, but to you, it does. And if He is, there's a reason for it. God doesn't ask us to do anything He, himself, wouldn't. And if you want to look more and more like Jesus, life's not going to necessarily be easy, comfortable, and convenient. I think we can all agree Jesus' life sure wasn't. And so, with all things, we have a choice. Aaron and I don't ever have to do anything radical. We don't have to change a thing or do anything differently than we are doing now. But we want to make His name great, and we want to make His name known. We want to see God move and act in ways we never have, and we want to experience Him on a greater scale than we've ever known. We want to live out scripture rather than just simply knowing scripture. That only happens when we step out on faith and get out of our little selfish circle. That only happens when we seek God's face and open our eyes to the world around us, specifically to those made in God's own image. And so we're aware now of needs that must be met, of what God is asking us to do, and although I know we'll start on this new journey and have moments where we question why we decided to do this in the first place, God's blessings will be far greater than we would have ever known otherwise, and that's really what excites us the most!
#541 - For the courage He gives us to live radically.
"When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" - John 15:10-11