Are You Playing It Safe?

1 Corinthians 1:18 - "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Matthew 10:37-39 - "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Matthew 28:18-20 - Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Luke 9:62 - "Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Why did I post these Scripture verses? Well, after a very brief conversation with someone today, I felt like I needed to do some deep soul searching regarding my plans this summer. What I received during my time with Jesus this morning, listening and allowing Him to search my heart, was a lot more truth and encouragement than I expected - I love how sweet He is to us! So, what is it that I am doing this summer you may be asking. Well... I have an amazing opportunity to travel overseas to serve the people of Uganda for a couple weeks in June. I know God is leading me there - let me just make that clear first. But today, I began to feel a spirit of fear and condemnation creep into my heart so quickly when I felt that someone thought I was crazy for choosing to do this. So, I immediately ran to Jesus, seeking comfort and affirmation that I was truly following Him, that the thoughts I was hearing were not truth. And what I ended up with, was an even deeper longing for Christ than the day before. My faith in Him is just a little stronger than yesterday. What Satan intends for evil, God uses it for astoundingly good things. Through that whole process, I was challenged to make a case for why I am going. These are just a few reasons...

Why am I going to Uganda? That's a fair question to ask. Why would I risk my life to go to a "dangerous" part of the world for God? (As some have termed the trip, "dangerous"). Is God not going to be with me in Uganda? Of course He is! Should I just "play it safe" and remain here in the states, particularly because I'm in a "safe" community? So that I don't risk the chance of getting harmed? Am I really guaranteed that nothing will happen to me here in America? I would be a fool to think so.

So back to my first question: Why am I going? Let me give my first and most important answer to that: because the Lord Jesus has commanded it. I belong to Christ and no other. I answer to Christ before I answer to you or anybody else. He is my Commander, my Chief, my King. I gave up all rights to call the shots in my life when I surrendered to Him. Do I have a choice or not? Of course I do. But by not going or just refusing to go, I would be choosing to disobey God and dishonor His name. God sent His One and only Son, Jesus, into this world to live a perfect life that nobody could ever live, to die a painful, excruciating death in order to bear all the wrath of God for all my sin (in my place), and conquered death by coming alive on the third day. God did all of that for me and all I can say is, "It's just not safe, Lord. It's a little too uncomfortable for me. It's too dangerous. Sorry." First of all, I'm not talking about pure ignorance. God, of course, wants us to be wise and use our brains so that we can be most effective for the sake of the gospel. What I'm saying is that we cannot sit on our hands when God is clearly calling us to GO! I had been praying and asking the Lord to show me where to go this year and I won't go into all the details, but He opened up this opportunity for me to be used by Him. I couldn't think of a reason NOT to go. And I wasn't about to miss out on seeing the awesome power of God displayed in my own life.

You can tell I'm kind of passionate about this, huh? Well, I am! Haha! My small group and I have been studying the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. Something that has really stuck out to me, especially in the past few days, is when the Israelites were crossing the Jordan. God had commanded that the priests were to carry the ark before the rest of the people and were to stand in the river. That was the extent of their direction. God was going to cut off the water flow and cause it to stand up in a heap. So, what did they do? They did it. The priests had to get their feet in the water first, though, before He would stop the flow. Amazing. Even though God had told them He would stop the water from flowing and stand it up, they still had to trust Him that He would do it. How many times do we question God even after we've heard Him speak His word so clearly to us? How many times have we heard...yet did nothing about it...or just ignored it.

I understand that the trip is like a blink - it's only for 2 weeks, so how much can I actually do there that will be effective? And is it even worth going for such a short time? I've been told, "well, there's only so much you can do." True. There is only so much I can do, but I'd rather do some rather than nothing at all.

Bottom line is, I'm following Jesus. Read Luke 9:57-62. It might cause you to weep. But they are Jesus' words.

"As they [the disciples and Jesus] were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."" .....So, will I follow Him even if it means I will be without a home?

"He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Are you playing it safe? I'd encourage you to evaluate your life. And believe me, every day is a battle between denying my flesh and giving into my selfishness. And I lean more heavily on the selfish side. I am just so thankful for the grace and mercy God sheds on me daily to keep striving to follow Him wholeheartedly.