After reading one of Jentezen Franklin’s book a few years
ago, I decided to do a 21 day Daniel Fast. It was the first time for me and as
I feared not eating (in fact I started off with three days of full fasting), I
ate up large the night before I started. Up until that point in my life, eating
had become a coping mechanism for me. I love food and I used it many times in
my life to calm emotions, feed my starving soul, take out my anger and just
indulge in some goodness for my pallet. So the thought of fasting scared me, to
say the least.
But once I started fasting, and really, it’s still eating
but just cutting out some of the favourites and remaining in a spirit of
prayer.. I realized that what I was believing God for was more valuable than
the food that I was sacrificing. So I wrote this in my journal..
“I’m not missing out on anything, unless I’m missing out on
You.” You Meaning God
I was making chocolate cupcakes at a camp for kids when I
realized that even for this seemingly big sacrifice of not eating this food I
had spent hours cooking, NOTHING compares to what I would miss if I missed out
on God and the answer He would give as a result of my fasting.
This can also translate to the life that we live right now.
My kids were asked recently where they would rather live – Ethiopia or New
Zealand? Not an unusual question for them and they were being asked by a New
Zealander in Ethiopia so they felt free to answer as this person was well aware
of both country’s contexts. Freely my daughters answered that they would rather
live in Ethiopia because of the lifestyle but it took my youngest son a couple
of days to answer and he answered when we were alone. He said, “If my cousins
were all here in Ethiopia with us, I would rather live in Ethiopia…If all our
family were here. “ I completely understand
and too often yearn to have cuddles with my nephews and nieces and late night
catch ups with my sisters and Mum. I feel like I’m missing out when birthdays
are celebrated and special holidays call for family gatherings and we are not
there. But at the end of the day, I know that I’m not missing out on anything
unless I am missing out on God and His purpose and plan for my life.
Yesterday we went to a church service where the preacher was
speaking from where Paul says “To live is Christ…” He made a point about the
things that we as humans can replace the word “Christ” for. The first example
he used was “money”. To live is money. This is the mantra of the lives of so
many people (Christian and non-Christian) around the world. We believe that
money makes the world go round and perhaps makes our life complete but if
that’s what it’s all about then life is seemingly meaningless as money is only
temporary. It’s just a tool to fulfill life’s real purpose.
The second example he used was one that he said was huge for
American’s especially. He said “To live is Family… and went on to explain how
many people put family and children before the worship of God. This he said can
be interpreted as family becoming a god. To us of the familial-centered
cultures, this is a challenge. What if taking our children out of our comfort
zone was God’s will and we chose comfort for them over obedience to Him. Does
that make them our god? What if a father insisted a child stay and chase his
career options in one country that would fulfil his every material desire but
he chose to go instead to a far away country where his skills were needed more
and God has called him. Does his disobedience to his father mean he is sinning
or does his obedience to where he is called by God supersede his father’s command?
I’ve met so many young people who have come to Ethiopia or
who have heard us speak about our calling here and God’s provision in making it
happen and have said that they feel called also. But there are people and
circumstances in their lives that have stopped them from doing it. I am not
saying that I am any better because we have done this thing…I speak because I
know people still don’t understand our calling and the sacrifices we made to
make this move, but God does. God knows the call, He knows the fear that
follows and the hesitation to obey. But on the other side of that He also knows
the blessing that awaits. He knows the joy that you will experience by being in
His will and purpose. He feels the pain of the departure but He also knows the
pleasure of the arrival.
Moses knew the truth of this sacrifice. He had the Promised
Land in front of Him, but he was not willing to claim it unless God was with
him. In essence he was saying “I am not missing out on anything (even the
Promised Land) unless I’m missing out on you.
Then he said to Him “If your presence does not
go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
Over the five years that we have been on this journey coming
to and living in Ethiopia, our sacrifices have been acknowledged on various
occasions. My response is always that, the greater sacrifice would be to NOT
come to Ethiopia. I would rather miss out on all the things in New Zealand
(family, the lifestyle, the beaches, the conveniences) than to miss out on what
God has for us here. There is no better place to be than in the centre of His
will.
So I’m writing this blog as a challenge and as an
encouragement. What do you fear missing out on when you or if you were to step
into God’s will? Then also to encourage those who feel like we are making a
sacrifice. When we get to heaven (and we’re not getting there by our good works
or by our sacrifices we made here, but by the ultimate sacrifice Christ made on
the cross and our belief in Him) we will have everything we missed out here on
earth. Our time here on earth is short compared to how we will spend eternity.
We only live once and we will never know the fullness of joy that comes with
being in Christ’s will apart from our time on earth. So let’s make it count.
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| One of the beautiful lakes in Debre Zeit |
The truth of the matter is that stepping out in obedience to God's calling here has opened up the door for so many blessings, in experiences, in ministry, in relationships, in travel, in meeting some amazing people. God is never in debt to us. Our sacrifices can never outweigh His.
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