God has given me Psalm 130 for my students and the country of Hungary. Take a look at it! I look forward to discovering more about what God has to say in this chapter and what He has to say to those I come in contact with.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Leaving
The time has come. As I head out tomorrow for training and then Hungary, I have been thinking a lot about this idea of leaving. Leaving family, friends, comfort, familiarity, and so on. Everybody does it(almost everybody)...I've done it with the World Race. It seems almost harder this time because I have an idea of what to expect...
People in the Bible were always leaving their life as they new it to pursue God's vision for them. Moses was pushed down a river ("leaving" his family) before he could even make the choice himself; the rest of his life surrounded leaving comfort and privilege to pursue God's task of leadership and redemption of His people.
Jacob had to flee from Esau after stealing his birthright. He leaves home and ends up in the desert first:
"12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:12-15)
God gives Him a promise (the land), a task (multiply & bless), and a journey...Jacob has to LEAVE this piece of land to inherit it.
There are many, many more examples throughout the Bible of God's promises to those who obey His instruction to get up and go. In my case, I tend to allow fear to enter in. Fear for family and friends' safety and fear that I will miss out on the lives of the people I love.
I had trouble sleeping last night. It took me forever to go to sleep (after 1 am) and I snapped awake at 6:30 am this morning with my mind running a mile a minute. (I always do that before I travel). One thing that was running through my mind was something God was speaking to me about leaving and missing out on others lives. God was telling me this morning that I am not responsible for others' lives; that I cannot bare this responsibility. He was telling me that if I don't follow His leading then I will miss out on my own ABUNDANT LIFE! Wow! What a life-giving rebuke from God. I HAVE TO LEAVE TO DISCOVER THE ABUNDANT LIFE GOD HAS FOR ME.
I will miss my family and friends. I will miss my life here at home. It will be a struggle to be gone again during the holidays. To not be able to come home. This is okay! I learned last year during World Race training that is okay to grieve and to struggle through things while still following the path of God. Last year we were asked to do something called "Grief Journaling." This is where we had to sit and write out everything that's on our mind, what we are sad about, anything and anyone in our life that comes to mind that has ever hurt us, etc...to allow ourselves to grieve instead of pushing it aside and just trying to "get over it." Everyone grieves in different ways and at different speeds. They MUST be allowed to do this! Don't rush it!
Leaving is a part of life and God has asked me to do it at this time. Does this mean I won't miss those I love, be sad about not being "around", or grieve? As Paul says, "BY NO MEANS!" It just means I am walking in the abundant love God has created for me. I can't wait!
People in the Bible were always leaving their life as they new it to pursue God's vision for them. Moses was pushed down a river ("leaving" his family) before he could even make the choice himself; the rest of his life surrounded leaving comfort and privilege to pursue God's task of leadership and redemption of His people.
Jacob had to flee from Esau after stealing his birthright. He leaves home and ends up in the desert first:
"12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:12-15)
God gives Him a promise (the land), a task (multiply & bless), and a journey...Jacob has to LEAVE this piece of land to inherit it.
There are many, many more examples throughout the Bible of God's promises to those who obey His instruction to get up and go. In my case, I tend to allow fear to enter in. Fear for family and friends' safety and fear that I will miss out on the lives of the people I love.
I had trouble sleeping last night. It took me forever to go to sleep (after 1 am) and I snapped awake at 6:30 am this morning with my mind running a mile a minute. (I always do that before I travel). One thing that was running through my mind was something God was speaking to me about leaving and missing out on others lives. God was telling me this morning that I am not responsible for others' lives; that I cannot bare this responsibility. He was telling me that if I don't follow His leading then I will miss out on my own ABUNDANT LIFE! Wow! What a life-giving rebuke from God. I HAVE TO LEAVE TO DISCOVER THE ABUNDANT LIFE GOD HAS FOR ME.
I will miss my family and friends. I will miss my life here at home. It will be a struggle to be gone again during the holidays. To not be able to come home. This is okay! I learned last year during World Race training that is okay to grieve and to struggle through things while still following the path of God. Last year we were asked to do something called "Grief Journaling." This is where we had to sit and write out everything that's on our mind, what we are sad about, anything and anyone in our life that comes to mind that has ever hurt us, etc...to allow ourselves to grieve instead of pushing it aside and just trying to "get over it." Everyone grieves in different ways and at different speeds. They MUST be allowed to do this! Don't rush it!
Leaving is a part of life and God has asked me to do it at this time. Does this mean I won't miss those I love, be sad about not being "around", or grieve? As Paul says, "BY NO MEANS!" It just means I am walking in the abundant love God has created for me. I can't wait!
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