Breathe in. Breathe out. Put one foot in front of the other. Step out into the vast darkness,
and
go.
and
go.
Two thousand thirteen has been the year of all years. I have learned more about faith in the past few months than I had in all my previous years combined. Faith is the "complete trust or confidence in someone or something" and it is "based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof." Faith is the lifeblood that pumps through my veins and empowers me to function amidst a chaotic and oftentimes hopeless world. I have no proof that what I believe in is real, at least not the sort of proof that can be tested and retested in a controlled experiment and later published in a textbook. Yet I have complete trust and total confidence that the God I believe in is true and alive and moving.
I have been home from Australia for exactly four days. Four days does not seem like a long time, but it feels impossible that I could have been in Sydney just four days ago. Could I really have been lying on Bondi Beach with my feet in the sand and the sun pouring down upon my smiling face? Could I really have spent four glorious months in a land that I love and that gave me so much in return? It feels like a sweet, sweet dream that is hanging around me still. Was it real? Am I here, sitting on my bed in my home on the east coast of the United States, ten thousand miles away from the land I have come to call home?
I've completed my journey, I've returned from my adventure, and now it's on to the next one, which will be just as full of faith-lessons as the last.
I've completed my journey, I've returned from my adventure, and now it's on to the next one, which will be just as full of faith-lessons as the last.
I was driving home tonight on a quiet country road, where the cars are scarce, the lights are few, and every now and again you have to dodge a buggy. As I unconsciously sang along to the songs of HIllsong's "Glorious Ruins" album, I looked up for a moment and focused on the constellation Orion in front of me. Driving up a hill, the few lights of the cars and shops faded away and it felt as if I were driving straight into the steady, outstretched arms of Orion. It felt nice to be driving headlong into his arms. Welcoming. Warm. Calm. Good. Like everything is how it's supposed to be and I'm right where I belong.
Well shucks, isn't that all anyone wants? To go through life, through its triumphs and tragedies and amidst its sorrows and joys, into outstretched arms, knowing that everything is going to be just fine?
Well my dear ones, that's what faith does.
The future is as unforeseen as the black sky that stretched out around me, but the God who holds all the answers is as bright as Orion, awaiting me with open arms all the way through to the end. LIke the stars ahead of me, His light guides me through the uncertain path and comforts me when I can't see anything but Him.
As I rounded the hill and came into contact with the lights of other cars and distant shops, the light of Orion lost its brilliance. Instead of feeling comfort and peace I felt the agitation that comes from glaring headlights and noisy signs. No longer was I focused on the beautiful constellation above me, but on the distractions of the world around me. No longer were the stars ahead of me something mysterious and enchanting, but something obscured and forgotten. Amidst the lights from below I lost sight of the expanse above and got mindlessly caught in the current of the world's traffic that moved me forward.
I don't want to get trapped in that traffic.
Well shucks, isn't that all anyone wants? To go through life, through its triumphs and tragedies and amidst its sorrows and joys, into outstretched arms, knowing that everything is going to be just fine?
Well my dear ones, that's what faith does.
The future is as unforeseen as the black sky that stretched out around me, but the God who holds all the answers is as bright as Orion, awaiting me with open arms all the way through to the end. LIke the stars ahead of me, His light guides me through the uncertain path and comforts me when I can't see anything but Him.
As I rounded the hill and came into contact with the lights of other cars and distant shops, the light of Orion lost its brilliance. Instead of feeling comfort and peace I felt the agitation that comes from glaring headlights and noisy signs. No longer was I focused on the beautiful constellation above me, but on the distractions of the world around me. No longer were the stars ahead of me something mysterious and enchanting, but something obscured and forgotten. Amidst the lights from below I lost sight of the expanse above and got mindlessly caught in the current of the world's traffic that moved me forward.
I don't want to get trapped in that traffic.
Faith is not needed for those who use the lights the world has offered them. Orion is not seen to those who forget to look up into the mysterious darkness overhead. The path is carefully drawn and marked by those who want to control exactly where they are going. And usually those who control their paths get to their desired destinations. However, there are no exciting detours along the way.
Nor does a human-made path have the potential or thrill a God-made path has.
I believe that the plans I had for my future prior to Australia were flawed. They were microscopic compared to what God has in store. They lacked imagination and truth be told, they were down right boring. In Australia I learned more about faith and how big it truly is. My journey down under opened my eyes to the exhilarating, huge world around me. My experiences with God and those he placed in my life while abroad have released me from those old, humdrum plans.
I've stripped away the distracting, man-made lights of the shops and the traffic and now I can look up into the sky and take in the stunning view of Orion. Now, although all the rest is dark, I can see the arms that are waiting for me at the end. I've given up on making plans based on that which I can make sense of by the light of the world around me. Instead, I'm going on the faith I have in the true light above.
This faith is available to all, and the journey towards a breathtakingly beautiful future with God is there for all who come. The unknown is a bit scary at first, but the confidence we can place in God's plans make all that fear melt away. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Breath in, breathe out. Let peace settle upon you and it will enable you to keep moving ahead. Let God replace your carefully crafted future with his massively enriching plans. Believe me, it's worth it, and oh how it brings such great joy!
The proof of Orion is shining brightly up ahead, just turn of the distractions from below and,
with a little faith,
go.
Nor does a human-made path have the potential or thrill a God-made path has.
I believe that the plans I had for my future prior to Australia were flawed. They were microscopic compared to what God has in store. They lacked imagination and truth be told, they were down right boring. In Australia I learned more about faith and how big it truly is. My journey down under opened my eyes to the exhilarating, huge world around me. My experiences with God and those he placed in my life while abroad have released me from those old, humdrum plans.
I've stripped away the distracting, man-made lights of the shops and the traffic and now I can look up into the sky and take in the stunning view of Orion. Now, although all the rest is dark, I can see the arms that are waiting for me at the end. I've given up on making plans based on that which I can make sense of by the light of the world around me. Instead, I'm going on the faith I have in the true light above.
This faith is available to all, and the journey towards a breathtakingly beautiful future with God is there for all who come. The unknown is a bit scary at first, but the confidence we can place in God's plans make all that fear melt away. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Breath in, breathe out. Let peace settle upon you and it will enable you to keep moving ahead. Let God replace your carefully crafted future with his massively enriching plans. Believe me, it's worth it, and oh how it brings such great joy!
The proof of Orion is shining brightly up ahead, just turn of the distractions from below and,
with a little faith,
go.
"When God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."
-2Cor3:17-19tmsg
-2Cor3:17-19tmsg
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