I recently sent this email to a guy I know who’s making quite a journey with God. As I read and reread it, I thought it might be encouraging/challenging for someone out there. So, enjoy:

I’m having a cup of coffee in Spain. A cup of thick, strong coffee - the type that goes down with a wince it’s so strong. It’s also amazing and delicious. We’re here to visit a group of people loving university students in Salamanca and then it’s back to England to keep dreaming and moving ahead.

I hadn’t picked up Starving Jesus in a month. Since our flight to England. This morning I had an unusual break in time and so I decided to read further. I’m glad, actually, that I hadn’t read it…because what’s it’s saying today I needed to hear today.

Today it’s talking about moving, about packing up everything and going and how fragile life seems in those moments. I get that now. “Listening to God is not without pain, worry or remorse. We must be bold and step out, knowing he will provide. Listening to God must become the rule for [my] life, not the alternative.” “It’s just listening with an honest ear that defines [my] future.” I hope I can always choose the truth of God’s future even though its requirement is work and effort. My prayer today is that I can forget about myself. Those are precious and powerful moments, aren’t they?

Today it’s talking about fasting. Our team fasts together on Fridays. Then we break it with a big loaf of bread, some wine and great conversation when we get together to pray that night. On those days, it’s like our senses are heightened. All of them. God is present and there’s that sense. We can smell him in the crisp morning. We can see him in the guy we’ve never talked to on the bus…until today. We can understand him in those nagging thoughts in the back of our minds about our character and who we are and are not and how that needs to change. We laugh and we see him there too.

“Who am I predominantly concerned with when I am making decisions?” I’m not happy with my answer. But, in some weird way, I’m glad that we (meaning all of us who are struggling to hear) don’t have it together. That we all think we are the worst of sinners. I find God there.

I’ve recently been flipping through a book called Starving Jesus by Craig Gross and J.R. Mahon. I’m only a few chapters in and I like it well enough. But there is one section in particular that has made an impact. This is from a chapter called “Born Again Lazy”:

The Lord was calling me out. I hear a lot of people say ‘in God’s time.’ That’s crap, plain and simple. God isn’t a mailman, and he isn’t Santa. If we’re waiting for him, we are placing all the responsibility squarely on him, but he needs us to get up and out, not God up and out. God did his part, in the form of the cross, and it’s our responsibility to carry that message of love to all the nations … now! Not when things seem to work out better for us, or when we have more money or more time, or when the kids have gone to college, or when we find a mate, or when we get married, or when the new job comes or … or … or … or …

Now.

Time was ticking for me. It’s funny how we put time on God, as if he has some kind of spiritual Rolex up there. We expect things to happen for us, so we pray and wait, wait and pray. Then when it becomes painfully obvious that it ain’t happening, we pray again and scream, ‘What are you doing, God? Help me, God. Please help me!’ We even work ourselves into doubt and, from there, occasionally start to resent God.

His time for us is now. Right now…

…As Christians, we are fond of prolonging the inevitable, seeking ourselves right into ignoring God and his Word. When God called the disciples…they went. They left their lives, everything. It must have been the toughest thing they had ever done.

Leah and I have wrestled with this excerpt. We have been petitioning God along with literally hundreds of others and seemingly he has not responded to the requests about our house while absolutely everything else is in place for us to depart for and arrive in England. Now.

Yesterday I had two separate people tell me about a passage of scripture in different ways. They were both referencing the third chapter of Joshua.

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. (From Joshua 3 - NIV)

The application is pretty apparent and is put together well by Ray Vanderlaan on his website.

After wandering in the desert for forty years, the Israelites were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. They were probably anxious to possess the land and become living witnesses for God.

But there was one last barrier in their way: the Jordan River. And its fast-flowing waters were at flood stage (Josh. 3:15).

No doubt the Canaanites were pleased by the timing. They had probably heard about Israel’s victories east of the Jordan. But with the river at flood stage, they felt protected. To them, the flooded waters showed Baal’s power to save them from the Israelites’ invasion.

The Israelites had reached a monumental moment: they could either trust in God’s power and step into the dangerous river, or they could disobey God’s commands to enter the Promised Land because of their fear. God’s people made their decision: They broke camp and prepared to cross.

The priests carried the ark of the covenant - a symbol of God’s presence - to the edge of the river. Looking at the water below, they were probably terrified of what would happen if they stepped in.

But trusting God, the priests took the first step into the Jordan. Immediately, the river water stopped and the people could pass through on dry ground (Josh. 3:16). The pagans who had trusted in Baal were stunned to see that Israel’s God had power over both nature and their fertility gods.

And just like the Israelites, each of God’s children reaches moments when they must “cross the Jordan” to pursue their calling. To do that, we must get our feet wet - we must take that first step of faith.

Though you and I may prefer that God hand out long-range plans, he doesn’t promise that. Instead, he asks us to respond to his calling by taking a step of faith today, trusting that he has the future under control too.

Today, there are many “Jordan Rivers” that hold Christians back from their calling. For some, it may be a job or a relationship that doesn’t glorify God. For others, it may be an addiction or a fear of the unknown.

But no matter what barriers we face, each of us must make a decision: Will we trust that God controls everything - including the obstacles and fears before us - and step out in faith? Or will we stay on the other side of the Jordan and miss the opportunity to feel God’s power in our lives?

Couple this with our readings in Starving Jesus and we have a mixture capable of causing some serious soul searching. We’ve considered that God has led us through some pretty amazing things. We have raised 100% of our support. We have received our visas (in 3 business days). We received word that there is a house for rent waiting for us in England. There are already funds in an English bank waiting for our arrival. We have spent time with all of our family members to prepare for the absence. We have hundreds of people praying with us. Our team members Robert and Natalie have received their visas. They have raised 100% of their support. As you can tell, the path has been paved well.

It’s a continual process to try and interpret the direction one should take, in any situation, to ensure that God is glorified. In trying to determine the way forward, Leah and I feel that we cannot and should not wait any longer to depart for England. God will take care of the “Jordan River” in our life that is the house. Our job is to seek him and seek to honor him with all we are and to step out in faith. We truly believe that we need to take this step even in the midst of uncertainty.

So we, along with our team will most likely be heading out next week! The time is now. Stay tuned for solidified details and get our email news to get updates automatically, but above all pray. We’re scared but confident and we need to know that you’re going to God with us. Will we trust that God controls everything - including the obstacles and fears before us - and step out in faith? Or will we stay on the other side of the Jordan and miss the opportunity to feel God’s power in our lives?

We’ll step out. We’ll go. Here am I Lord, send me.

You know the “thoughts flashes” that I was referring to in this post about true trust? I want to come back to that. I was reading a book this morning called Soul Types: Finding the Spiritual Path That Is Right for You by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and Jane A. G. Kise. It’s a book based on the Meyers-Briggs personality test and is written from a Christian perspective. How best does this personality type experience God? What does this personality type tend to do to feel fulfilled in faith? These are the types of questions that this book addresses. Read the rest of this entry »