This has been a very emotional week for me and my friends. Our youth pastor and his family, who have been with us for four years, are being called to a different church. This wasn't something any of us expected, nor is it something we wanted. So many questions have been running through my head since Sunday, I just don't know how to take it all in.
On Wednesday in the youth group, he talked to us about where we went from here. What happens now, if you wish. It was so hard not to simply cry my eyes out in front of everybody as I listened to him, because even though it was his last time talking to us, what he said, God had already spoken to me throughout the week in my personal times with Him. And everything he said was hard to swallow. The biggest for me was most definitely to not get sidetracked and distracted when these things happen.
When our pastor announced he was leaving, one thought that ran through my mind was whether or not I should still go to Canada. As many know I am a Senior in high school this year, and I feel as I have some kind of leadership position within our youth group. With that position, I can't help but feel as if I need to stay here over the summer and help the group transition between pastors. But our youth pastor, and my mom later on, said it so truthfully. God has called me to Canada to do a ministry that no one else can do. And if I stay here, I am going to hinder ministry both here at home and in Canada. God will still use somebody else, but the results won't be the same, I will miss out on that relationship with God that is forged on mission trips, and I'll miss the opportunity that God has given me.
As true as that is, it is so, so hard to accept. Which led me to thinking today, what other things to I know in my mind but in my heart I refuse to accept?
What are we meant for? Why are we here? Are we here to take up space? Or are we here to help people? As Christians, we are here to show, share, and be Jesus to the lost people. We are not just here. We have a reason. Ultimately, we all have the same job - to show people the way to Christ. How we do that is different from every person, but is all the same in the end.
WE have a job to do, whether we realize it or not. WE are not here to party, to work, to just live. We are here to live for Jesus.To live in a way that glorifies God, not ourselves. And every day, we should live in a way that reflects the love of the Man who died to save us. Because whether or not we realize it, someone is always watching, be it our friends, coworkers, family, or a child. Someone is watching everything you do, listening to everything you say.
That right there, is something that most Christians refuse to accept in their hearts. But you know what, I determine right now, to accept that, and do live it. It's one thing to say something, it's another to live it out.
One thing that I find really hard to accept, no matter how many times it's brought up, is that according to the world, I know nothing of value, because I'm only seventeen years old. But according to God, I know so much more. Because I'm young, people are watching, waiting for me to screw up.
But what if I didn't screw up? What if I didn't fail? What if I succeeded, if I won? What if I proved them wrong? Then, I wouldn't just be looked at, I would be looked to. I would set an example, be a leader. People would look at me and say, "She's a good girl. She follows God's Will". God doesn't just want me to be good, he wants me to be excellent, to be everything I need to be in order for His work to be done.
Sometimes God, the Great Physician, gives us hard pills to swallow. Whether they be life circumstances, ideas, or convictions, it's all the same. Nothing is going to hurt any less than something else. God's conviction on a sin in your life is not going to be any more or less painful than losing a loved one. And that's simple the way life is.
Still in the valley, but looking towards the Son,
Emily
On Wednesday in the youth group, he talked to us about where we went from here. What happens now, if you wish. It was so hard not to simply cry my eyes out in front of everybody as I listened to him, because even though it was his last time talking to us, what he said, God had already spoken to me throughout the week in my personal times with Him. And everything he said was hard to swallow. The biggest for me was most definitely to not get sidetracked and distracted when these things happen.
When our pastor announced he was leaving, one thought that ran through my mind was whether or not I should still go to Canada. As many know I am a Senior in high school this year, and I feel as I have some kind of leadership position within our youth group. With that position, I can't help but feel as if I need to stay here over the summer and help the group transition between pastors. But our youth pastor, and my mom later on, said it so truthfully. God has called me to Canada to do a ministry that no one else can do. And if I stay here, I am going to hinder ministry both here at home and in Canada. God will still use somebody else, but the results won't be the same, I will miss out on that relationship with God that is forged on mission trips, and I'll miss the opportunity that God has given me.
As true as that is, it is so, so hard to accept. Which led me to thinking today, what other things to I know in my mind but in my heart I refuse to accept?
What are we meant for? Why are we here? Are we here to take up space? Or are we here to help people? As Christians, we are here to show, share, and be Jesus to the lost people. We are not just here. We have a reason. Ultimately, we all have the same job - to show people the way to Christ. How we do that is different from every person, but is all the same in the end.
WE have a job to do, whether we realize it or not. WE are not here to party, to work, to just live. We are here to live for Jesus.To live in a way that glorifies God, not ourselves. And every day, we should live in a way that reflects the love of the Man who died to save us. Because whether or not we realize it, someone is always watching, be it our friends, coworkers, family, or a child. Someone is watching everything you do, listening to everything you say.
That right there, is something that most Christians refuse to accept in their hearts. But you know what, I determine right now, to accept that, and do live it. It's one thing to say something, it's another to live it out.
One thing that I find really hard to accept, no matter how many times it's brought up, is that according to the world, I know nothing of value, because I'm only seventeen years old. But according to God, I know so much more. Because I'm young, people are watching, waiting for me to screw up.
But what if I didn't screw up? What if I didn't fail? What if I succeeded, if I won? What if I proved them wrong? Then, I wouldn't just be looked at, I would be looked to. I would set an example, be a leader. People would look at me and say, "She's a good girl. She follows God's Will". God doesn't just want me to be good, he wants me to be excellent, to be everything I need to be in order for His work to be done.
Sometimes God, the Great Physician, gives us hard pills to swallow. Whether they be life circumstances, ideas, or convictions, it's all the same. Nothing is going to hurt any less than something else. God's conviction on a sin in your life is not going to be any more or less painful than losing a loved one. And that's simple the way life is.
Still in the valley, but looking towards the Son,
Emily
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