The Barbarian Way
Looking back at the last few months have been a whirlwind of emotions… Pain, Joy, Triumph, Defeat…
It is crazy that when you are in the situation, the only reasonable thing to do is to question why is this happening? At least that is where I go, God why do you let bad things happen? How can I process what I am seeing everyday? Where are you in this journey? What are you asking of me?
This journey we call “life” is tough and the past few months (maybe yearJ) I have been asking God, why? I was hit so hard by the day to day life that happens that I forgot to sit before the Lord, to be still and know that He is my God, I had to come home due to sickness and being home has been a blessing, but I still see the children of Africa with every blink of the eye, I hear them singing in my sleep but wake up to silence, I remember the smells and the feeling of holding the little ones and I miss it. When I returned home, the questions didn’t stop… More happened with my family, illnesses and unanswered questions but I think that I have come to the point, that this life was never meant to be easy, When Jesus called His disciples He made clear what the call was, it wasn’t easy and when they said yes they knew without a doubt what Jesus expected. I am reading the “Barbarian Way” by Erwin McManus and this is a quote form the book: They (disciples) trusted Jesus with their lives, and they lost their lives on the journey. If you could interview any one of them, each would insist that even in the midst of suffering and hardship, he was most fully alive. They were not disappointed in God because they did not misunderstand who He was. They understood His call, and they chose it willingly! Some barbarians survive the night in the lions den; others experience their darkest night and wake in eternity!
This resonated with my spirit in a deep way, who are we as followers of Christ to think we deserve anything more than what Jesus experienced. We desire a life of health and think that it is our right to question when something happens with our finances, or we become ill. We deserve nothing more than what was handed to the disciples and to Jesus Himself. I am still trying to get to a point where I walk this out but it is what my heart is screaming.
Thank you for the reminder ‘Sweetness’. I love it when God places revelation into our hearts! I needed to hear that from you! We absolutely deserve NOTHING more than what Jesus experienced. How fragile life is here………. How MIGHTY is our GOD!
Blessings, renewed spirit and health to you and yours! I love you girl! TW
Our enemy is a real enemy. By such experiences, you truly know the voilence of sin and are coming to truly hate this enemy of God. God gave man so much when He stooped to the earth to gather the dust therein and breathed His very life into him. He commanded man to rule on the earth. In this God limited Himself. Yes, God is Sovereign and he made man in HIs image and gave man a domain. God has proved Himself again and again as Faithful, longsuffering and full of mercyHis ultimate plan will not be thrawted and is already established in Christ Jesus. Yes, we could have been created his robots but wherein is Praise and Worship in thisWherein is love and adoration and freedom to know Him and follow Him by hearty desire. Man’s choices have darkened his way. He said the days would grow darker and it is then light becomes brighter. Our hope is not in man’s solutions;they always fall short. Our hope(expectancy) is in HIM. We are called to overcome so there is something to overcome! In your press, divine alignments are working a course and destiny in you. May your GOD-Sense always overule your other natural senses, walking in Faith gaining eternal vision and Kingdom realities.
hi Heather – write me and catch me up on what’s going on!