This blog is going to be a little different than the usual, because lots of things have been going on in my life recently and I just figured I’d share them with you real fast, with some Biblical application of course.
Recently Jamie and I took over as youth directors at Indian Lake First Baptist Church, and initially when we were asked to do it, I’m not gonna lie, it was a little overwhelming. We talked about it for a while and we both came to the same conclusion that there was a need, and we were meant to fulfill it. We were a bit concerned however because this is kind of a tough season in both of our lives, with wedding planning, Jamie working a new job, and me taking 19 credits of all upper division classes that I lack nearly all the prerequisites for, but as time went on we realized that we made the right decision and we knew we are following the path that God laid before us.
We then had our first youth group, in which I did a lesson on Luke 10:1-4 and a few other passages just stating that Jesus never said following Him would be easy, in fact He said the exact opposite. Then on Sunday morning we were asked to go in front of the Indian Lake church so that I could introduce Jamie to the church, but before Jamie and I got up to speak, Bill read a passage to the church and then introduced us. The passage he read really struck me and it’s what inspired me to write this post. He read Isaiah 6:8:
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
This struck me because Jamie and I didn’t know we were going to be sent to Indian Lake, and we definitely didn’t expect it nor was it the ideal time in our lives to do it. But I highly doubt Isaiah expected to be sent like that directly from the Lord to the Lord’s people. I also highly doubt he wanted to, considering the thing God says to him is basically that they aren’t going to listen to him. Because no one enjoys constantly warning someone not to do something for their own benefit and then not to have the listen to you.. It’s kind of frustrating.. But Isaiah went anyways because God told him to.
I then realized that us going to be the Indian Lake youth directors was far from convenient and definitely was not going to be easy, which kind of goes along with my lesson on Jesus never saying that following him would be easy.
I’m not telling you this to brag that Jamie and I are special in some way; I’m just telling you this to show you one instance where following God can seem overwhelming but at the same time be an enormous blessing to yourselves and to those around you. Trust me when I say we are far from special, we simply saw what God was calling us to and we jumped right in, but I assure you there have been at least a million instances when I regrettably didn’t just jump in to what God was telling me to do at the time, and I’d be willing to bet Jamie feels the same way. But we wish we had.
So basically I’d just like to encourage you. If following God is getting tough for you, then good! It’s supposed to be! And if God is calling you to do something big or small, do it, because I promise following God’s plan for our lives is worth the hardships. And if people try and bring you down for trying to live for Jesus then all I have to say to you is Matthew 5:11-12.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
