Imagine with me you’re at home. You’re going through your day and nothing eventful has happened thus far. You are relaxing reading a book or an article online when all of a sudden, someone runs in and tells you that your best friend was just in a car accident. They explain that your friend is in critical condition and will die if they don’t get a kidney transplant right away. They ask if you want to see if your kidney was an option. You agree right away and run out the door to go see if it will work. It’s a perfect match.
The doctors ask if you want to donate and start explaining things that may go wrong. Before the doctor can even finish their sentence, you urge them to start the procedure. They try telling you some possible complications but you just insist that they do it now. So they do. Your best friend makes it and after a long time of recovery, heal completely.
I can relate to doing whatever it takes to see your friend safe and okay. In emergencies like this or even things WAY smaller, we’ll do whatever it takes to help those we love. We don’t thoughtfully think through pros and cons, if the doctors are the most qualified, or if you have the time to fit it into your schedule. No. That’s ridiculous. You just respond and are willing to do whatever it takes to help your friend.
In March this year, GFA’s ministry focus was clean water. There’s a big need for clean water, right? We all know there is. This month I am understanding more and more how much of a need there is, though. Look at these statistics with me:
Those are big numbers. I have known there was a big need for a long time, but it rarely impacted me. This month has been different, though. I have been admitting to the Lord I didn’t have a heart to see all those people helped. I was sad for them and prayed in prayer meetings, but the “sadness” didn’t stay with me as I left. I started praying and asking the Lord to break my heart for what breaks his. I wanted to have compassion for the millions of people that are suffering in extreme poverty, but I just didn’t have it.
Think of the story I started with. When someone we know and love is in even small need, we want to help and will do whatever it takes to do so. I’ve been pondering in my own heart lately why it’s so different with people I don’t know. I see and speak of these needs, but it’s just numbers to me. It doesn’t impact me in a way that I’m really concerned or do something about it. It’s just a fact of life that there are millions of people without clean water. There will always be people who are in need. Why even bother at all?
Maybe you can relate. When I see big numbers I can’t really process and understand them. I have a disconnect from the heart and humanity of each individual. We as a class recently were challenged to remember the story of one. Meaning, if we can focus on the effect a Jesus Well had on one person and how it completely changed their life, then we can keep from discouragement and keep having a heart for the masses who still need help.
“Remember the story of one.”
It’s estimated that every 90 seconds a child dies from not having clean water. I have a lot of friends that I love so dearly that are under the age of 5. What if every minute and a half one of them died? I don’t think I could handle that anguish. The Lord has put it on my heart to think of all these kids that are dying as if they were my greatest friends. That changed things for me. My heart really did break when I thought that way. Even that is just a glimpse of how the Lord looks at them with love and compassion.
I have been challenged to pray all the more fervently and work in the office all the more diligently knowing that I am a part of so many people being helped. If you can relate with what I’m learning, please pray with me and consider looking at GFA.org to learn more and see how you can help by donating towards a Jesus Well or a BioSand Water Filter.
Duct tape is probably one of the greatest inventions made by man. The old proverb goes “If it doesn’t work the first time, just add more!”
Imagine with me you are on the Apollo 13 in space and you have this huge problem. You have too much carbon dioxide (CO2), which is coming from your own exhalations. Without fixing this you are going to die.
You are talking to your teammates from NASA on earth which is comprised of some of the most genius people on earth. They, after much trouble shooting, tell you to just fix this life-threatening problem with duct tape. You then think to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of this before!” You just get so excited about this idea you actually take the time to text your friends, call your mom and post it on social media. Twice. You just found this great solution that will save your life!
The problem? (Besides probably not having service in space.) You never actually put the duct tape on. You got so caught up in this great idea and you didn’t act and fix the problem. It’s not that you didn’t have all the right knowledge you needed or that you weren’t equipped or qualified to do it, you just didn’t apply all those things that would have saved your life.
This brings up an interesting spiritual application. It is one thing that I have gotten the most out of School of Discipleship so far. Let’s dive into it!
We can have all this head knowledge and know all the right things about the LORD, but if we don’t apply and practice what we know, we are on the wrong path. The Devil has better theology than all of us and yet is destined for an eternity in hell.
So often I find we will be stoked about missions. We will listen to all these great sermons, podcasts, read these great books and post on Facebook, “Go to all the earth and make disciples!” We love reading all these one-liners about missions and get so excited. The problem? We never leave our couch and make disciples.
So just like the example with the duct tape, we know exactly what we need to do, we know the Holy Spirit is living inside us, yet we don’t do it. It’s not a way of life for us. If anything it’s a special event.
We just went through the book Crazy Love, and one thing the author, Francis Chan, said was that we get so caught up in the Lord’s calling and wanting to do the perfect thing, we end up doing nothing. We don’t pray for hours and days on end to see if it’s the Lord’s calling to watch TV. We just do it. Why is it any different with things that we read in our Bibles? Just do something. After you start doing, then the Lord will reveal more and more what your calling is.
So my encouragement is, be bold and courageous and do what the Lord is calling you to do! Start small and be patient with yourself as you struggle to make change over time.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor is for a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. – Psalm 30:5
“From the love of my own comfort
From the fear of having nothing
From a life of worldly passions
Deliver me O God
From the need to be understood
And from a need to be accepted
From the fear of being lonely
Deliver me O God
Deliver me O God
And I shall not want, no, I shall not want
When I taste Your goodness, I shall not want
When I taste Your goodness, I shall not want
From the fear of serving others
Oh, and from the fear of death or trial
And from the fear of humility
Deliver me O God
Yes, deliver me O God
And I shall not want, no, I shall not want
When I taste Your goodness I shall not want”
– I Shall Not Want by Audrey Assad
Discipleship is hard. There’s just some days that are really hard and seem impossible to get through. Those days it feels like everyone and everything drives me crazy.
There’s always a part of me since coming to School of Discipleship that wants to call it quits and go back home on those hard days. Things are easier at home. I can get more rest, I have more friends, I feel more comfortable and even feel I could perhaps impact lives in a deeper more personal way back home. But, that’s not the Holy Spirit talking, that’s me talking. The Lord has called me here for this season whether it feels like it or not.
The song at the beginning has been my prayer lately. There’s been a lot of hard times and hard days. I can relate to everything in this song. I want to be understood. I want to be accepted. I don’t want to be lonely. I’ve felt them all. Yet, I do believe that when I taste the Lord’s goodness I shall not want.
Have you ever felt the need to get away and spend time in solitude with the Lord? Read about what our students experience in School of Discipleship’s regular times of Sunday Solitude.
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