As I returned from the Dominican for the Holidays I had a full list of expectations and hopes of how this visit would go. After being out of the states for 3 months at a time, I seem to always forget what exactly it is that I am coming home to… I set my mind only on the joy and excitement of walking into my home and seeing those faces I so longed to see in person!! Somehow, I always seem to forget that though I minister in another country, sometimes the spiritual warfare is raging even more strongly against me as I step off that plane into the “comfort of home.”
While I was talking to a friend tonight, I found myself impressing the need of “guarding our hearts” in different situations. As I thought about this for a minute, I realized that this is advice I should have given myself some weeks ago when I had planned this trip home. I quickly forget, as I travel home, that it is very possible that my heart is more exposed here, than it sometimes is even in the Dominican. I ask myself the hard questions when I’m in the DR, I spend countless time in the presence of God, I make it my heart’s desire to risk everything for the sake of serving Christ. But, do I make that my priority here as well. I seem to let my mind stray from the fact that there are just as many people in America that need the word of God as there are in the DR. I remembered
that quickly as my time home quickly became filled with situations I had never expected.
As a believer and servant of Christ we are called to risk everything. We are called to step out of comfort zones, to be bold, and to remain hopeful. We have to consider, if we are Christians who are afraid to step out, are we living in righteousness? Think of all the men in the bible who stepped out of their comfort zones to do the will of God, for example, Joshua and Moses. As we think about “risking everything” we most the time jump to the conclusion that that only applies to those serving outside of this country, those risking their lives. This however, is not the case. God calls us ALL, as believers, to serve, in turn, to risk everything.
About a year ago, our pastor gave a charge to pray for a lost friend/family member. He was very specific in saying “you don’t have to go preach at them, but think of what could happen in God’s kingdom if we earnestly sough after the lost souls.” My friends that in fact, is our job. So I started
praying for this friend that I have who is not a believer. Not only a non-believer, but wants absolutely NOTHING to do with Christianity or any believer. I don’t know why God has placed this particular person on my heart, but as soon as the pastor gave us this charge, this is the person I immediately began praying for. So for months I have been praying for a person who has done
me wrong in the past, who I didn’t particularly care to see or talk to again. I was content with it because if praying was as far as I had to go with the relationship, then that would suit us both just fine. God however, was not satisfied with it ending there. In the past 6 months or so we had exchanged one text message simply a how are you kind of conversation. It ended with “I’m
praying for you” and a reply of “don’t bother.” After that message I really wondered “God, why am I still doing this.” And the answer I received was probably the most humbling I had ever gotten. A couple days after this conversation I had not been praying specifically for this person anymore. I opened a book called “The Culture of God’s Kingdom” by Nick Wilson. I began to read the
chapter on “Blessed are those who mourn.” As the author begins to explain Matthew 5:4 I broke down in tears, finally understanding what God had been trying to tell me for days.. Nick Wilson says “When our grief-stricken hearts are humbled to mourning God will release our friends and loved ones from the bondage of sin that holds their hearts in chains.” How had I not realized sooner
that God didn’t want my empty prayer…. He didn’t want my “Do I have to” attitude.. What he wanted/wants is my earnest prayer, my broken heart, my sincerest mourning for this friend walking in the darkness of the world. God began asking me “are you risking everything?”
Sometimes risking everything comes in different ways. Maybe we are risking a friendship by sharing the gospel of Christ. Maybe we are risking a happy relationship by expressing our deepest desire to seek God fully and faithfully. Persecution in America is not nearly as bad as most countries, but it is still present. Because we share our faith we are not invited to the “cool kids house,” we are looked at differently by friends, family, co-workers, even some losing their jobs for the sake of sharing their faith. It comes to a point where you have to be willing to live with that though. It comes to a point that you have to decide nothing is more important than spreading the word of God. Sometimes it is indeed easier to be a Christian in our head. It’s easier to
honor God with words. But when we can honor him with our hearts, and our actions, it becomes risk taking.
My friend and I had a conversation just a couple days ago. The conversation had been going well, finally able to communicate with no tension, until the subject of Christianity came up. I began to feel fearful of speaking out, knowing that this time would probably be the end to our friendship if I
stepped out and said anything. All I could hear resounding in my head was “are you going to be ashamed of Me, are you not willing to risk this, believing that I have complete control.” So, I simply let that person know how I felt about them, how I desired for them to talk to me about God, how I would continually pray for them no matter what the circumstances were, and whether it be in 1 year or 10 years I would still be more than happy to have this conversation with them…. That was the last conversation we had.
Risk taking faith is hard. We are not always prepared for what we have to do, for the relationships we may lose. In not taking risks, we may gain all this world has to offer… Read with me in Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” My friends, we should never be at the point that we are willing to forfeit our souls for the
earnings of this life. Our hearts should be broken, mourning, crying out to God on behalf of the lost souls. We should be overjoyed to serve in any way possible, even if that means having risk taking faith from our tiny little home in tiny little Clarion County PA… It’s our Faith that leads to action.
It’s our love for Jesus Christ that allows us to step out of our comfort zones, that points us in the direction of being bold and courageous, every single day. Never giving up, even through the persecution and hardships.
Sometimes these situations cause us to want to retreat, to step back and maybe “give it a break” for a while. But I am telling you now that is exactly the time the enemy is waiting patiently for. Not only to pull someone in darkness even more into darkness, but to cause our feet to slip as we back away from the will of God. We have to continue, no matter where we are, to spend countless time with God, to continue risking everything, to continue asking ourselves the hard questions and surrendering our lives fully to Him each and every single day.
As we continue in this Holiday season I pray that we continue to guard our hearts. I pray that our focus and attention doesn’t fall solely on the “tradition” of Christmas or New Year, but that we continue even in this holiday season to remember to push on in unashamed, risk taking faith, Ready to fight the battle of the enemy at any given time… May God continue to bless you as you serve!
God Bless,
Jessica
While I was talking to a friend tonight, I found myself impressing the need of “guarding our hearts” in different situations. As I thought about this for a minute, I realized that this is advice I should have given myself some weeks ago when I had planned this trip home. I quickly forget, as I travel home, that it is very possible that my heart is more exposed here, than it sometimes is even in the Dominican. I ask myself the hard questions when I’m in the DR, I spend countless time in the presence of God, I make it my heart’s desire to risk everything for the sake of serving Christ. But, do I make that my priority here as well. I seem to let my mind stray from the fact that there are just as many people in America that need the word of God as there are in the DR. I remembered
that quickly as my time home quickly became filled with situations I had never expected.
As a believer and servant of Christ we are called to risk everything. We are called to step out of comfort zones, to be bold, and to remain hopeful. We have to consider, if we are Christians who are afraid to step out, are we living in righteousness? Think of all the men in the bible who stepped out of their comfort zones to do the will of God, for example, Joshua and Moses. As we think about “risking everything” we most the time jump to the conclusion that that only applies to those serving outside of this country, those risking their lives. This however, is not the case. God calls us ALL, as believers, to serve, in turn, to risk everything.
About a year ago, our pastor gave a charge to pray for a lost friend/family member. He was very specific in saying “you don’t have to go preach at them, but think of what could happen in God’s kingdom if we earnestly sough after the lost souls.” My friends that in fact, is our job. So I started
praying for this friend that I have who is not a believer. Not only a non-believer, but wants absolutely NOTHING to do with Christianity or any believer. I don’t know why God has placed this particular person on my heart, but as soon as the pastor gave us this charge, this is the person I immediately began praying for. So for months I have been praying for a person who has done
me wrong in the past, who I didn’t particularly care to see or talk to again. I was content with it because if praying was as far as I had to go with the relationship, then that would suit us both just fine. God however, was not satisfied with it ending there. In the past 6 months or so we had exchanged one text message simply a how are you kind of conversation. It ended with “I’m
praying for you” and a reply of “don’t bother.” After that message I really wondered “God, why am I still doing this.” And the answer I received was probably the most humbling I had ever gotten. A couple days after this conversation I had not been praying specifically for this person anymore. I opened a book called “The Culture of God’s Kingdom” by Nick Wilson. I began to read the
chapter on “Blessed are those who mourn.” As the author begins to explain Matthew 5:4 I broke down in tears, finally understanding what God had been trying to tell me for days.. Nick Wilson says “When our grief-stricken hearts are humbled to mourning God will release our friends and loved ones from the bondage of sin that holds their hearts in chains.” How had I not realized sooner
that God didn’t want my empty prayer…. He didn’t want my “Do I have to” attitude.. What he wanted/wants is my earnest prayer, my broken heart, my sincerest mourning for this friend walking in the darkness of the world. God began asking me “are you risking everything?”
Sometimes risking everything comes in different ways. Maybe we are risking a friendship by sharing the gospel of Christ. Maybe we are risking a happy relationship by expressing our deepest desire to seek God fully and faithfully. Persecution in America is not nearly as bad as most countries, but it is still present. Because we share our faith we are not invited to the “cool kids house,” we are looked at differently by friends, family, co-workers, even some losing their jobs for the sake of sharing their faith. It comes to a point where you have to be willing to live with that though. It comes to a point that you have to decide nothing is more important than spreading the word of God. Sometimes it is indeed easier to be a Christian in our head. It’s easier to
honor God with words. But when we can honor him with our hearts, and our actions, it becomes risk taking.
My friend and I had a conversation just a couple days ago. The conversation had been going well, finally able to communicate with no tension, until the subject of Christianity came up. I began to feel fearful of speaking out, knowing that this time would probably be the end to our friendship if I
stepped out and said anything. All I could hear resounding in my head was “are you going to be ashamed of Me, are you not willing to risk this, believing that I have complete control.” So, I simply let that person know how I felt about them, how I desired for them to talk to me about God, how I would continually pray for them no matter what the circumstances were, and whether it be in 1 year or 10 years I would still be more than happy to have this conversation with them…. That was the last conversation we had.
Risk taking faith is hard. We are not always prepared for what we have to do, for the relationships we may lose. In not taking risks, we may gain all this world has to offer… Read with me in Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” My friends, we should never be at the point that we are willing to forfeit our souls for the
earnings of this life. Our hearts should be broken, mourning, crying out to God on behalf of the lost souls. We should be overjoyed to serve in any way possible, even if that means having risk taking faith from our tiny little home in tiny little Clarion County PA… It’s our Faith that leads to action.
It’s our love for Jesus Christ that allows us to step out of our comfort zones, that points us in the direction of being bold and courageous, every single day. Never giving up, even through the persecution and hardships.
Sometimes these situations cause us to want to retreat, to step back and maybe “give it a break” for a while. But I am telling you now that is exactly the time the enemy is waiting patiently for. Not only to pull someone in darkness even more into darkness, but to cause our feet to slip as we back away from the will of God. We have to continue, no matter where we are, to spend countless time with God, to continue risking everything, to continue asking ourselves the hard questions and surrendering our lives fully to Him each and every single day.
As we continue in this Holiday season I pray that we continue to guard our hearts. I pray that our focus and attention doesn’t fall solely on the “tradition” of Christmas or New Year, but that we continue even in this holiday season to remember to push on in unashamed, risk taking faith, Ready to fight the battle of the enemy at any given time… May God continue to bless you as you serve!
God Bless,
Jessica