Ok, so today totally made up for yesterday. Sometimes i think that little booger (aka: devil) just wants to drive us to the brink of hopelessness so we become blinded to the blessings all around us. Lame. Alright, so I was down for half a day or so... but not out; I knew I had to hold on to God's promises and persevere to see what the future held!
The last three days i've been doing a little photography workshop for a few youth in town. They have been such a blessing this week. Through them God kept reminding me to be "childlike" in my faith. You see, most young kids believe ANYTHING is possible until the world tells them otherwise. Most of the time that's our "safety net" so that we won't get our hopes crushed or God won't even have the chance to "fail" us. So, as we get older... we trade in that kind of faith for a more "grown-up" sophisticated version that's not the least bit biblical, but somehow we justify it. (speaking to myself too....)
Good thing his character does not depend on our faith, and His promises are still true. It's our choice to step into them or not. So, when the times get tough or the expectations of the world seem too heavy... Do we hold onto His promises or just call the rainbow a mirage? We must CHOOSE to walk in that truth and taste what He's offering us.
Just for a moment I'd like everyone reading this to pretend that they are a kid again. (And pretend this isn't cheesy, Ha. :) Let's say that you just loooooove your skittles. You love the taste, the shape, the colors, the smell... everything. You eat them everyday and when you are not eating them, you're talking about them. (Let's hope there are not real kids with this obsession.) So now you are with your parents on a mission trip in some remote village in Africa. You just ran out of your last bag and they are NOWHERE to be found. You are freaking. In that moment, you randomly see some other kid with a package. The other kid says if they are that important to you he'll sell them for $100 bucks. You hesitate knowing that is serious cash money to you. But then you think about they way the look, smell, and taste again and you begin to dig around in your pocket. (Pretend you have the $ for some reason). You then look at the money and think about all the other things you could buy... but nothing would quite satisfy you like those skittles. After returning to your house (er... hut) with your tasty treat, someone randomly gives you $100. (For the sake of the analogy, forget about the fact this kid had an ugly addiction that he paid $100 bucks for :)
You see, God seriously offers us His "skittles" every day, but not just for us to look at. It sometimes looks like a high price or some sort of sacrifice for those promises, but once we step out in faith... He's already taken care of everything. He's paid that price already... done and done. Whatever we do have to lay down is totally worth it and looks way more insignificant in hindsight. I want to be that addicted to Jesus! (Just like the kid with the skittles). That nothing would ever be worth hanging on to in this earth, to simply receive more of Him... and enjoy all the flavors (sorry, i just had to) of His promises.
When we STEP INTO that rainbow- we become a reflection of Him, a testimony of His promises and our lives become that much more rich and colorful! I mean, who doesn't love a rainbow? I learned many years ago that rainbows are always there in the sky, we just don't see them unless the conditions are just right. The correct definition of a rainbow is: appears in the sky opposite the sun as a result of the refractive dispersion of sunlight in drops of rain or mist. So even when we don't see them, we trust they are there.
I like to think that we finally see the promises when they are opposite the son as a result of the refractive dispersion of the son's light in our tears. Whether those tears are from pain or brokeness, it's Him reflecting off of us that reveals His true glory as it becomes a living testimony to the world. No one can argue with your testimony of God's love... because it's yours and it's real to you. So maybe instead of us showing others what is wrong with the world today; we should gently, humbly and joyfully lead them to what's right by our actions.
B90: (Joshua 19:1- Judges 6:21) How fitting for today is Ch. 21:45? "Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed: all came to pass." And then again in Ch. 23: 14-15. Gets a little sticky after that, but time and time again... God proves His faithfulness in the word, and not even because He has to... I mean, He's God.
I love this quote by George Mueller,"If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time." If you've never read this man's autobiography, it's on the top of my recommendation list! This guy was constantly putting himself out there, totally exposed... making His needs clear to the Lord. He could have lived a comfortable life, never really asking or needing anything. But He decided to start caring for God's orphans one day... and because of this His needs became greater, He was responsible for more, his reputation suffered.... but His faith in the Lord grew every breath. Why? Because He HAD to rely on God and God ALWAYS came through.
I'm not talking about more clothes, a new car, a bigger house, or better job kinda needs. I'm talking about trusting God for food on the table, transportation to your job, clothes to wear and a roof over your head. That's when we know that we NEED God to survive. And to be honest, most of us living in America have never known this kind of need. And we are certainly not bad people because of that, we just might need to make a little room for Him to move in our lives every once in awhile.
One of the definitions of sacrificing is: to surrender or give up, or permit disadvantage to, for the sake of something of higher value. If we really truly do believe our relationship with God is of HIGHER value, then we'll give up anything for Him. Even if it means to our earthly disadvantage. But what we find is once we hand something over, He gives us a much better version of fulfillment and satisfaction in Him. And we are even MORE blessed because we see it came directly from His hand!!!
xtra: So today, right after i'd decided what to write this blog on... one of my photography student pulls out a bag of skittles!!! Ha ha. I just looked at them, looked up and laughed. Seriously, God just cracks me up all the time. And now, I'm sitting at my desk and look over at a book my mom bought me a few days ago. This book is called "THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH" and has a big ole rainbow across the front of it. You tell me that God doesn't care or want to interact with us daily... and I just won't believe you. Haha! Enjoy it folks! We only get one :)
P.s.s. And don't even get me started on my rainbow stories... we'll save those for a rainy day (tee hee). Love you all dearly... thank you so much for reading these extensive blogs!!! You are my sunshine... my only sunshine... you make me happy... (ok ok, i'll stop.) Goodnight!!!
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