The World’s Standards
Back home at church in Indianapolis, I was surprised when my pastor began a sermon that month on patiently waiting when it is not your season. By the time that month and the series ended, I understood that according to the world’s timeline it may seem like it’s not your season for this or that, but it’s always your season to fall in love with and gain a better understanding of him. Falling in love with Jesus is a natural thing; however, we become clouded in this concept because we live and breathe in a fallen, wicked world that wants us to fall in love with everything but him. According to the world’s standards, we are supposed to fall in love with money, greed, and power. It’s okay to fall in love with the attainment of material possessions according to the world, but the moment we fall in love with him, the world puts us on notice.
Just Haven’t Seen Him Yet
What I finally realized in that season was that it’s precisely falling in love with him that leads us to the rest of our lives and those special moments like falling in love and finding a lifelong spouse through his grace. God tells us that he knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5), so when we find ourselves in him, we find the fullness of everything he imagined for us.
If you are still holding on today, then hold on until the ‘morrow comes. Keep holding on for his vision to arrive because maybe you just haven’t seen it yet. Don’t close your eyes or fall asleep because you are a work in progress; if you are on the planet, then you are a revision in the works. We may not understand it because his ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), but we continue to hold on despite it all.
Faith is the Guide
Christ was here on this planet with us for a short time. Christian researchers and historians estimate that his ministry lasted from around the time he performed the first miracle at the wedding in Cana in Galilee until his crucifixion and his time with the apostles in Acts, which would be about three or four years depending on which gospel account seems most accurate. Christ changed the world with his radical approach to freedom: He taught that it is the faith of each individual that leads to the breaking of chains.
Our faith is the guide to a treasure map of unexpected riches, but the key lies in handing it all over to him. In my new book Just Seven Days, I invite readers from around the world to delve into the reading and discoveries of Christ through the lens of a child as we go on a journey for just seven days, learning to hold onto our faith. Faith means we believe even if we just haven’t seen it yet. Faith means believing in him even if we just haven’t met him yet. Faith means leaning on him and allowing him to deliver us out of our darkest, most despondent moments into the miraculous and life-changing. Christ is still performing miracles, and he can do it in just seven days!
Featured photo by Edgar Mountain on Unsplash; in-text photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
Follower of One Has a Marketplace Mission Trip Workbook
Follower of One’s founder and lead instigator, Mike Henry, Sr., has penned a book! The Marketplace Mission Trip book is a six-week workbook intended to show others how to be a missionary on their job. Like any mission trip, you shouldn’t take the marketplace mission trip on your own. This workbook is designed for group presentation. Share with your coworkers, small group, or church and feel ready to make a difference in the lives of others with the key ideas discussed in the Marketplace Mission Trip workbook.
