Here’s a Test for You
A couple weeks ago we talked about what it means to be a true Christ Follower. We talked about how obeying Him and giving your “entire” life to Him is what it really means, right? OK, having said that, we should’ve probably talked about what the outcome will be once you decide to step out in faith and do whatever it is He’s asked you. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna list 3 options and I want you to guess which one is correct. Let’s see how smart you are. Alright? Here we go...
Question: Once you decide to give your entire life to Jesus and obey Him, your life
will_______.
A- Be easier than ever before, because you’ve decided to obey God, and that’s why you
can have “your best life now.”
B- Be full of rainbows, puppy dogs, gumdrops, fairy dust and whatever you touch will
turn to gold.
C- Be more difficult than ever and you’ll have to “press-into God” harder than ever
before. You’ll also frequently feel like quitting and will be tempted to fall to your
knees, looking to the sky (all while shaking your fist heavenward) as you scream out,
“why God?!!” And although you never really cuss out loud, the words definitely scroll
across your mind. You’ll also frequently feel like punching people in the face. You’re
tempted to get angry and bitter at everyone around you (because secretly you know
everything is their fault). You, all of the sudden, have the supernatural ability to pick
out everyone else’s faults because magically you don’t have any (actually this may
be a new gift of the spirit).And finally, you’ll second guess your decision and come to
the conclusion that you must have missed God because it’s so hard.
OK. Which one did you pick?
If you picked A, then I’m sorry to say, “you’re wrong.”... sorry. But this is what we think most of the time isn’t it? Even though Matthew 7:14 tells us that, “the way that leads to life is hard and that few people will actually be on that road.”
If you picked B then... well, everyone knows that if you’ve got fairy dust then the golden touch is like, sooooo unnecessary. So, B is wrong too.
If you picked C then you’re absolutely correct! Once you decide to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, strap on your boots (whatever that means) and get ready for the battle. If following Him was easy then everyone would be doing it, but it’s not. And the temptation will always be to second guess your decision and quit. No matter how many miracles you see or how many audible voices you hear it always seems like the temptation is to say (with our lip stuck-out, of course), “well, it must not have been God’s will and I guess we missed it.” But we must, must, must keep pressing forward.
The reason I’m talking about this today is because, “we’ve wanted to quit so many times here in Brazil.” For real. This is NOT easy. We received an evil report from the U.S. the other day and it really hurt ( I might be able to share it later). That, coupled with the fact that we’ve been here over a month now and we’re still stranded on the mountain with no phone/internet/or vehicle to contact anyone, we don’t speak fluent Portuguese so ministry is harder, one of our dogs was violently ill for over a week (throwing up blood-not eating-not drinking) We were having to force water down her throat so she wouldn’t dehydrate and die (here in the jungle) because there’s no vet for dogs, we’re having problems with my paperwork at the Federal Police and have spent several days trying to get it fixed. They said “I’m going to be fined $80 Realis per day” as a fine and communicating with them is very difficult, it’s been raining for over a week now (the only thing worse than being stranded in the jungle is being stranded in the jungle in the rain), all of our friends and the people we lean on when we’re going through difficulties are all in the US, our oldest son is in the US and we miss him, and ... I could go on and on but I’ll stop there.
I actually laid in bed the other night and tried to think of how we could send our container back to the US before we get it, get a job at a local church somewhere in the States and put an end to this craziness! It’s been hard and seems like it’s getting harder rather than easier. MJ and I were even talking the other morning and she was telling me that she only wants to stay here 12 months. And the fact that we’ve already been here 1 month meant that we’ve only got 11 months left. So, she had already started the countdown! When she said it we both looked at each other then we just busted out laughing! It sounded so stupid... to be here 1 month and we were already counting down to our escape?! lol! Then we talked about how faithful God has been to us. And we talked about “the call” He gave us to come to Brazil and there was no doubt about “the call” only doubts about our present circumstances. And the 2 really have nothing to do with each other (when it comes to how long we stay).
You see, the fact is that, when you really decide to follow Christ things WILL be difficult at some point in the journey. And you WILL consider quitting or bailing out early. Why?
Because ultimately it’s a spiritual battle and you’re battling against spiritual forces that are opposed to God and His Kingdom. Just read Ephesians 6:10-13. Go ahead...
In the last part of verse 13 and in the beginning of 14 it says, “having done all to stand firm... stand.” And that’s exactly what you’re gonna have to do too... stand firm. Stand firm in knowing that you heard from God and just do what he’s asked you to do.
So, long story short, we’re staying. We’re not shipping our container back, I’m taking my resume’ and throwing it in the trash, and I’m ripping MJ’s 12 month countdown calendar off the refrigerator. lol! Just pray for us... we need it: )
Not Counting Down Anymore in Brazil,
Jim and MJ
PS- One of the pics is in our backyard and the other is of something MJ found in the jungle that she wanted to use as a decoration... lol! You can take the decorator out of the city but she's still a decorator: )
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