I think I’ve felt this way, on some level or another, since the day I got saved—and even though I’ve gone deeper, dreamed bigger, and pushed farther and farther beyond the walls of my comfort zone than ever before, the call still keeps coming to keep on going. It’s like the Christian right of passage or something. We can’t just stay in neutral and be okay. As Pastor Rick has said time and again, “You’re either going forward or creeping backward…there is no neutral.”
The thing that I think is stirring within me is not actually me at all…and “it’s” not a “thing” either. He’s a Person—The Spirit of the Living God Who is housed within me—and He’s crying out to be unleashed! He’s not a pet to be maintained. He’s not quiet and docile. He’s rarely convenient and He is always right! He is bigger than anything we can ask, think, or even imagine, and His plans for us are too. This Christian walk is no joke. As long as we continue to seek God’s perfect will, we will never stop growing. It’s not always pleasant or easy or what we would choose, but the outcome is always good.
If we ever get the mistaken idea that we were born to live a good life of ease here, just holding on until we get to Heaven, we’re going to completely miss out on our purpose. This deep that calls to deep is tapping away on our shoulders saying, “Go this way. Talk to that stranger. Pray for this person at work. Trust me with this financial decision.” He wants to be active in every aspect of our lives, but too often, we try to quiet Him down. “Wait until Sunday. Tell me through a prophet so I know it’s you. That’s scary…you wouldn’t ask me to do something scary. God doesn’t want me to be unhappy.”
Yes He does! He does want us to be unhappy, because it’s in our dissatisfaction that we’re more likely to reach out to Him and actually listen when we pray! He does want us to be discontent so we don’t get lackadaisical and float through life on our lounge chairs! He does want us to do scary things so He can grow our faith in Him as He shows Himself strong in our struggles. He does want us to struggle so we can triumph over our pain and become a living testimony of His goodness to the lost and brokenhearted! It’s time to stop concerning ourselves with all our first-world problems, remove the muzzle from the Holy Spirit’s mouth, and be amazed by what He does when we take the leash off and allow Him full reign!
Get out of the “yeah, but…” zone—the nagging fear that tells us we’re not enough, we’ll never be able to do it, people would laugh if they knew, and it’s a good enough idea and all—but maybe for someone else. That’s nothing but the enemy and our flesh, neither of which need a say in how we proceed. Like the lukewarm Laodicean church in Revelations, it’s time to wake up, while there’s still time, and become white-hot fires that burn with passion for the things that matter to God.
I dare you to do something bold for Jesus. You can start here…right now. Begin by praying for God to show you problems in the people and communities around you, and then commit to being a solution for somebody somewhere! The world needs us to wake up and show them, not religion and church and a bunch of rules, but the all-powerful, almighty, all-knowing, ever-present God of the Universe Who operates in power and love and Who is inviting even the filthiest of sinners into the Kingdom—not as servants, but as sons and daughters and friends. We have to wake up, Church. Our time has come. Let’s walk the walk together and show this world what a bunch of prayed-up, focused, fully-awake Christians can do in the name of Jesus!
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with Him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with Him! – Romans 8:15-17 (MSG)
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work He began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! – Romans 13:11-14 (MSG)
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