Inspiration From The Valley

As I've mentioned, I have the opportunity to meet with students at Indiana Weslyan University, representing World Team. I have been praying about what to say and that God would prepare my heart for this event. I sat down yesterday morning to write down ideas and...blank. Nothing really came to mind. Yesterday, I talked on the phone with my World Team coach and she prayed that God would go ahead of me and prepare the way. Already I can see that He is doing just that.

Last night, I had a seemingly fruitless conversation with some friends which brought about a lot of pain. Not just pain for the immediate circumsance but the painful reminder of my past and the lies the enemy used to tell me. The lies that said "If you give up your life to follow Christ, He will never sustain you. You will have to give up all you desires and never be satisfied." Which I know is not true of course because Psalm 103 says He satisfies our desires with good things.

Later that night I sat by my bed and began to cry out to God. I began to tell Him of His goodness in my life and how amazing He is. I began to worship Him in my pain and something happened in me that David in Psalm 18 describes so well. "To the faithful, He shows Himself faithful." God is indeed faithful and He inspired me with these words...words that I'm excited to take with me into the classrooms next week at the missions conference. I've entitled it "Getting back Up."

How many of you watch the olympics? What is is about the olympics that draws us in and inspires us? (Glory, fame, greatness, discipline, success, belonging, accomplishement, victory, greatness etc.)

How many of you have ever felt that you were called to do something great? Did you know that this is not wrong or a mistake? As image bearers we were created to display God's greatness. We are all called to live significant and great lives for the glory of Jesus Christ. We each have a unique role to play.

Eph. 2:10 tells us that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Do you see how awesome this is? I mean, we weren't created to just sit here and live complacent lives. Too often Satan tries to tell us that if were saved than we are good to go. We can just sit back and coast through life until Christ returns. The enemy wants to do everything he can to stop you from living out the life you were created to live. He wants you to believe that your life is insignifiant, that your calling isn't important, you're not smart enough, and get this one...that your life is your owe...as though you weren't bought with a price. The devil doesn't want you to recognize the potential, authority, and power that lives in you, and that all authority has been given to us to go and make disciples of all nations. Because if we realized that all we have all these things than Satan isn't just dealing with One Christ, but he is dealing with billions of little Christs making the One name of Jesus known in all the world!

In order for him to do this, Satan tires to knock us down in our greatest weakness. But he doesn't just do this to those who are walking along complacently. No, he goes after those who are a threat to him. He goes after those who are running after God, those who are walking in the good works we were created for.

I'm telling you. It is in the times that I have I have been seeking God whole-heartedly that I sense the enemies attacks. I Cor. 10:12 reminds us to be be careful when we think we are standing strong because we may fall. And when we do fall, Satan is there hitting replay and trying to keep us down in our guilt in shame so that we don't rise again and go after our prize. He tries to tell us it's too late. But here's the good news: If you fall down, God still considers you righteous. Proverbs 24;12 says, "Though a righteous person falls seven times, he rises again." www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/WD29v2

Hebrews 12 says "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy before Him endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you many not grow weary and lose heart."

Conclusion: We are called to live significant lives for Jesus Christ. It is not the easy life. Training is not easy. People don't earn a gold medal by sitting around and waiting for something to happen. You know what's awesome though? We may not be striving for a gold medal but we are striving for something even greater! I Tim 4:8 says that physical training has value but that godly training has value for all things - holding a reward for both this life ad the life to come. It takes work. It will be painful. But in the end, when it all comes down to it, we can then say " I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in strore for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His apprearing."