As I begin the work with this chapter so much of it is speaking to me. I'm at a point where the words written on these pages are the ones my heart needs to hear right now.
Adventure is written onto the heart of every man. It is a desire that God has given us, and because of that it is ok to live them out. Adventure, the thing your heart craves, is part of your calling from God. "The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." As I read that my mind went to Psalm 37.4-5, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it."
These verses tell us something incredible, each of us is individually created. Each one of us have different passions, different desires, and different callings. God wants us to live out our passions. "Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived." We were created to live fully delighting in and trusting God. "He [God] rigged the world in such a way that it only works when we embrace risk as the theme of our lives, which is to say, only when we live by faith. A man just won't be happy until he's got adventure in his work, in his love, and in his spiritual life."
We each have deisres that are written into our hearts. God want's us to live them out because as St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." God is glorified when we we live out the deisres He has given us. We live in a world where this is only possible if we take risks. None of our true desries can ever be acheived without risk. We can't play it safe and live adventurously.
"God is intimately personal with us and he speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts." Each of our hearts are unique, each of our life callings is individual. The desires you have on your heart are things God wants to give you. He wants to do the things you yern to do. But they can only be accomplished by trusting and delighting in Him. He is glorified when we live our the desires He has given us because when we do that we are doing what He created us to do.
This book contains a quote I heard years ago, and it fits pefrectly in this chapter. "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." The world needs men who are men. Men who live from their strong hearts. Men who delight in and trust God. When we are alive we take risks and even if we fail we know that we attempted something that challenged us.
As John writes he tells part of the story of how he got where he is. Here are his words, "God was thickening the plot, testing my resolve. Down one road was my dream and desire, which I had no means to pay for, and an absolutely uncertain future after that; down the other was a comfortable step up the ladder of success, a very obvious next career move and the total loss of my soul."
Right now this is where I find myself. At work they offered me a full time position if I moved from garden to electrical. I had a heads up that something like this was coming, and it's something I was not looking forward to. I got this job for something temporary to help out financially until the right ministry position opens up. It worked out that I was able to get something where I could learn about an area that I was interested in. But now I've come to a difficult position, move into something with security, and better pay, or trust what God has been leading me to.
It's one of those situations where the human side of you says "You're nuts if you don't take this", but your heart is saying, "You know this will suck the life out of you if you do this". Before writing this I told two people about this offer, my wife, and one of my brothers. If my parents found out I'd never hear the end of it. They don't really understand the whole living from your heart and going for your dream, they are responsible people. But like I said, this position would suck the life out of me. And just as John said, God is thickening the plot.
Almost two weeks ago I got an email from churchstaffing.com that had a posting for my dream job. A young adult pastor position at a church that is the Church. The staff is a team that works together and is building the Kingdom all around the world. I read the job description and at first I was overwhelmed and scared. At first glance I was like "I haven't done most of this before, and it doesn't matter because I don't have the large church experiance they are looking for." But then I read it agian, and then again, and then again.
I started to work on my resume, updating it and making it more attractive. And as I did that I realized how much of what this church is looking for that I have actually done. Yes this would be a larger scale than before, but I have done it to some extent. As I read the job description over and over I noticed something, the aspects of the job that I didn't have the most confidence with are stated as being done with others. It isn't something that I'd be thrown out there on my own to figure out, but I'd be working as part of a team.
Over about a week and a half I worked on my resume, cover letter, and short account of my spiritual journey. Through the whole time I heard everything I've been told over the years, "You won't make it in ministry." "The age of the professional minister is over." "You come highly reccommended but we really want someone with experiance." "Thanks for applying, but unfortunatley we have decided to pursue other candidates."
But then I had this thought, "Maybe every door has closed so I'd be available for this moment." I thought about Ephesians 3.20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." This job would be just that, far more abundantly beyond all that I could ask or think.
Yesterday I sent in everything to the church. It's a risk, but it's one that is well worth it. If this is God's plan then I'll be in an envirionment where I will be able to help build the Kingdom in ways I never thought I would. Yes it will stretch me and challenge me. It will pull me out of my comfort zone but it will cause me to grow. It will be adventure that I have craved.
"Two roades diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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