Out of the Darkness!

Dear blog readers,

Jody wrote a really good newsletter this month and I want to share it with you. I like bragging about my guy. 

-Elisabeth

I'd like for you to take a moment and consider a strange phenomenon with me. Is there a closet near to you that is dark inside? What happens whenever you open it? Does the darkness inside the closet flood out and make the rest of the room dark? Though that would be a sweet trick, it doesn't work like that, does it? Instead, the light of the room overwhelms and penetrates the darkness that was inside the closet. "Darkness" does not exist. As the young scientist reminds us, "Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. -- 1 John 1:5-7 Knowing that we have this Light inside of us...this Light that equates life and illuminates the entire universe...this Light that eradicates all darkness...how should we be living? The Word of God says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. -- Matthew 5:14-16 We are called to shine. Bright. To glorify our Father who is in heaven. Darkness is not something we need to fear if we are walking in the Light. Much of this world is walking in darkness. If we don't allow our lights to shine, why should we expect those in darkness to see the light? Shine!

You don't have to care, and neither do I!

I don't have to care what people think about me. I don't have to go buy new clothes. I don't have to go to college and get a money making job. I don't have to buy a big house. I don't have to worry about my future. My confidence doesn't have to be in anything other than Christ. 

Isn't it funny how we work so hard to please the 15 some people who are around us? We make our decisions based on their opinions. They affect our appearance, our careers, our possessions, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and how we spend out time. We value their opinions more than God's opinion!

We can have a relationship with God. Did you just read that? Read it again. We can have a relationship with GOD. The one who has all power over not just our own lives, but over the lives of everyone around us, and over not only our own world, but over the whole universe! He is! We can talk to Him. We can know His opinion. We can please Him! 

He is amazing. Not only does He make a way for us to be saved from ultimate destruction, but He gives us a new heart with new desires to help us. He changes us so that our desires are His desires. We don't have to worry about pleasing anyone anymore. Instead of having to worry about pleasing our friends, we find joy and fulfillment in pleasing Him. He makes it so easy!

Oh, such freedom! Anytime I start worrying about what people think about me, I just have to remind myself I don't have to please anyone but Jesus.

Matt 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

O me of little faith!

Jody and I have been going through a book called "The Pursuit of God" by AW Tozer. That book is a must read, just to let you know. Anyways, a chapter about faith, completely changed my ideas on what faith actually is. 

I don't know about you, but whenever I would try to have faith, it was more like me trying to conjure up a belief inside of me. I would try to have this belief of whatever I wanted to happen. I would put all my focus on the problem in front of me and try to pretend as though I knew God was going to take care of it. I would go around saying to myself that God had already done what I asked for. 

Just in case you were wondering, it never worked for me. Instead I looked like a fool for going around saying "Oh, I have faith and God has already done what I wanted Him to.". 

Here are some things I took out of the book:

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John 3:14-15 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lighted up: that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life"

Our plain man, in reading this would make an important discovery. He would notice that look and believe are synonymous terms. "Looking" on the Old Testament serpent is identical with "Believing" on the New Testament Christ. That is, the  looking and believing are the same thing. 

Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God. 

Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence.

While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves---blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing by repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do wilt be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do. 

Now, if faith is the gaze of the heart at God, and if this gaze is but the raising of the inward eyes to meet the all seeing eyes of God, then it follows that it is one of the easiest possible thing to do. It would be like God to make the most vital thing easy and place it within the range of possibility for the weakest and poorest of us. 

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The flood gates opened after this. It was true. Faith is looking off of your problems and putting your gaze upon God. You don't even think of your problems because you are too busy looking at Him. 

Remember what happened to Peter when he was walking on the water towards Jesus but then He stopped looking at Him? He started to sink and then Jesus asked him where was his faith. Peter's faith stopped when He stopped gazing upon Jesus. 

It makes so much sense. I had always been focused upon my problems when I should have forgotten my problems and put my eyes upon Jesus instead. It is so simple yet I had always thought it was difficult to have faith. 

What are your thoughts on this?

Wimpy Missionary

Yep that is me! I have been here for a little over a month now and I won't deny that I have days when I just want to come home. At least once a week, I want to throw in the towel with Spanish, hop on a plane, and say goodbye! 

Studying Spanish would take so much of my time and I would use it as an excuse not to serve those around me. I mean, the whole reason God wanted me to come to Guatemala was so I could learn Spanish, right? I was quite wrong in thinking that. 

A week or so ago, God corrected me. He reminded me again today about how He had corrected me about this because I had forgotten and had fallen into the same trap again. 

He said to me, "Elisabeth, you aren't here to learn Spanish". 

I was like, "What God? I don't think I heard you correctly". 

He then said, "You purpose here isn't to learn Spanish. Your purpose is to bring Me glory and to minister to those around you. So, stop focusing on yourself!"

Ouch. That hurt. I had been putting too much stock in learning Spanish and was forgetting the real reason any of us are here on this earth. Just because I am in Guatemala and I am learning Spanish doesn't change the original mission. The mission has always been and will always be to bring God glory.