I’ve recently joked about renaming my blog, “Stuff Other People Wrote (And I how I feel about it…)”.
But seriously, it does sometimes take the words of another to piece together my own mental fragments. I think that’s the reason God puts us in community, at least in part. This past year, I have been reading the Jesus Calling Devotional by Sarah Young before my prayer time. I have to say, it helps me to make sense of the mental chaos by writing as if Jesus were talking directly to me. It helps me posture better towards Him and acquaint myself with this personal God that I often struggle to understand and sell short on His promises.
Last week, I came across this particular entry which was SO profound. Enjoy!
Understanding will never bring you Peace. That’s why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not in your own understanding. Human beings have a voracious appetite for trying to figure things outs, in order to gain a sense of mastery over their lives. But the world presents you with an endless series of problems. As soon as you master one set, another pops up to challenge you. The relief you had anticipated is short-lived. Soon your mind is gearing up again: searching for understanding (mastery), instead of seeking Me (your Master).
The wisest of all men, Solomon, could never think his way through to Peace. His vast understanding resulted in feelings of futility, rather than in fulfillment. Finally, he lost his way and succumbed to the will of his wives by worshiping idols.
My Peace is not an elusive goal, hidden at the center of some complicated maze. Actually, you are always enveloped in Peace, which is inherent in My Presence. As you look to Me, you gain awareness of this Precious Peace.
Proverbs 3:5 – 6, Romans 5:1, 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
To Thailand And Back: A Month Long Adventure To The Other Side Of The World
The last time I went away for more than two weeks, it was called college. So, understandably I was a little anxious leading up to a trip that would take me to the other side of the world for nearly a month. I had just finished my fifth and final year at my school and would now being moving onto a new place. This trip marked the definitive end of one era and the beginning of the next; unplugging from nearly all the familiar and tuning into the unfamiliar.
I said to a friend not long ago during the grueling and often uncomfortable application process to DC Public Schools that I thought it was okay to be uncomfortable every now and again (Then I told her not to quote me on that...) And, in a small way, going to Thailand (Yes, I know it was a vacation…) for a month pushed me there too. Being in a foreign land is always a little surreal, but to be there for an extended time makes detachment so tangible and forces engagement with the new life around you. Discomfort comes in many different forms… Anything new brings it on, but our perception of its potential outcome is what raises or calms our fears as we take on a new challenge. In a foreign land, there is hope because clear and distinct endings and beginnings raise an awareness that things could be new when we cross this starting line. So, it’s good to be uncomfortable… Because discomfort will raise fear… Fear will raise doubt… Doubt will beg faith… And faith will create hope… It’s not the connection I always make, but traveling around the world with 23 hour flights on either end will sometimes produce a life equation that was never present in us before.
Traveling is healthy. I find it’s not so good to stay in any one place too long. Though it may be good to pause and let our thoughts dwell and reflect, faith is about walking. It’s about moving, when laziness, routine, and comfort tell us to stay. Sometimes it takes a physical departure from our norm to spur us on in our faith walks… Other times it comes in a different disguise. Challenging our faith denies complacency. The more I’ve gotten to know Jesus, the more frequently I see this occurring. I don’t always understand it, but I’ve slowly learned that I don’t have to. I think Sarah Young delineates it best when she writes this from God’s perspective: “Understanding will never bring you Peace. That is why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not your own understanding.”
In the same way, searching for comfort will also never bring us peace. In fact, a life with Jesus is most likely short on comfort and high on disruption. But, these holy disturbances are preparation for a life to come and evidence that we do not live for what is here on earth, but for something far greater. I had a friend whose church theme for Lent was “Disturb us, Lord.” And, as scary as it may seem to bring that question forward, it is this disturbance that acquaints us with our weakness and avails His strength.
Do we trust God enough to ask Him to disturb us?
I said to a friend not long ago during the grueling and often uncomfortable application process to DC Public Schools that I thought it was okay to be uncomfortable every now and again (Then I told her not to quote me on that...) And, in a small way, going to Thailand (Yes, I know it was a vacation…) for a month pushed me there too. Being in a foreign land is always a little surreal, but to be there for an extended time makes detachment so tangible and forces engagement with the new life around you. Discomfort comes in many different forms… Anything new brings it on, but our perception of its potential outcome is what raises or calms our fears as we take on a new challenge. In a foreign land, there is hope because clear and distinct endings and beginnings raise an awareness that things could be new when we cross this starting line. So, it’s good to be uncomfortable… Because discomfort will raise fear… Fear will raise doubt… Doubt will beg faith… And faith will create hope… It’s not the connection I always make, but traveling around the world with 23 hour flights on either end will sometimes produce a life equation that was never present in us before.
Traveling is healthy. I find it’s not so good to stay in any one place too long. Though it may be good to pause and let our thoughts dwell and reflect, faith is about walking. It’s about moving, when laziness, routine, and comfort tell us to stay. Sometimes it takes a physical departure from our norm to spur us on in our faith walks… Other times it comes in a different disguise. Challenging our faith denies complacency. The more I’ve gotten to know Jesus, the more frequently I see this occurring. I don’t always understand it, but I’ve slowly learned that I don’t have to. I think Sarah Young delineates it best when she writes this from God’s perspective: “Understanding will never bring you Peace. That is why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not your own understanding.”
In the same way, searching for comfort will also never bring us peace. In fact, a life with Jesus is most likely short on comfort and high on disruption. But, these holy disturbances are preparation for a life to come and evidence that we do not live for what is here on earth, but for something far greater. I had a friend whose church theme for Lent was “Disturb us, Lord.” And, as scary as it may seem to bring that question forward, it is this disturbance that acquaints us with our weakness and avails His strength.
Do we trust God enough to ask Him to disturb us?
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