A year ago the people in my church rallied together to step into a dark place. A place where there was no light. A place where there is evil running rampant. My church sits on a hill and is surrounded by thousands of people in cute little homes with pretty yards. One piece of this community is the trailer park down the road. There is poverty here. Now, I need to tell you I have seen the darkness of this place, BUT I am not saying all trailer parks are bad places. I just want you to know there are some scary things happening in this specific place. I have seen them, I have felt them, I have heard them spoken from babies mouths. God called, we went. We invited all the children once week to join in on games and fun and hearing about God's love for them. Through this the Lord gave us a family of 7 babies ranging in age from 16 down to 6. We love them. Many people in my church on the hill have spent their time this past year pouring into, loving, transporting, praying for and teaching these 7 babies about LOVE and the Lord. As God knew would happen, these children a few weeks ago were removed from their home. They were put into the Foster system, some in homes some in shelters, scattered through our city. We came together brokenhearted and asked what we could do. We have prayed, we have petitioned, we have combated spiritual warfare and we have begged God. God has blessed, poured into and LOVED us greatly through this. Our church body has united to bring 4 of these babies into homes of church members. We are meeting with and loving on all 7 babies. God has blessed OBEDIENCE and we are all forever changed. It has not been easy, it has been hard. Hard only because we have been called out of our comfort zones to do something that looks crazy to the world. We are BEING the GOSPEL, we are ACTING in LOVE and that is met with confusion, questioning, judging and attacks from the deceiver. God has called us out on the water, and sometimes we are walking confidently and other times we are calling out to the Lord to SAVE US from drowning. He has not guaranteed that this will be easy. He has not said that he will protect us in our OBEDIENCE. As a matter of fact it has been made clear to me that this will be hard, that there will be scary things, that there may be danger and heart ache. But above all his name will be GLORIFIED, that the GOSPEL will be spread and that he is GOOD ALL THE TIME. Is that not the most beautiful thing ever? That in the hard places Jesus meets us. He may call us out on the WATER. We may struggle to stay above the waves. But HE is there! He goes before us. He is GOOD. He is GOOD.
My personal piece in this puzzle is to have one of these sweet babies in my home. Adam and I sought God's will in this and he said yes and so we also said yes. One of the boys moved in with us on Monday. I have NEVER EVER in all my days been so needy for the LORD. And guess what ya'll, we should ALL be living in a way that causes us to be NEEDY for Jesus. If we are no depending on him for our daily bread then something is wrong in our lives. I have come to a place of repentance in this. What have I been doing in all my days to step out onto the water with my SAVIOR? How have I been reliant on him? How have I stretched myself in ways that call me out of the pew and into his arms? In all the reflection, no ways. I have not been uncomfortable, I have not lived out the name of Jesus. I have proclaimed it with my mouth but my actions have not reflected that.
I have to tell you, if you are comfortable in your Christianity you are not doing it right. The disciples dropped everything to follow Jesus and then to proclaim his name to the ends of the earth in all the dark places. We had 21 believers beheaded this year in the name of Jesus. WHY WHY WHY are we still sitting in our pretty churches patting ourselves on the back my friends? FEAR? Uncertainty? Or are we not willing to give up comfort to increase the kingdom of heaven. Because death is the other option. Being spritually dead to me is the worst way to die. I don't want that for me, for my family, for my church, for my city, for my nation, for my world. I desire for all to turn their eyes to the Father and I don't want to be comfortable until that happens.
So you are gong to see and hear of radical things from me. I am going to LOVE in all the hard places. There is NO PERFECTION in me in this. I am in OVER MY HEAD and I covet your prayers in such a desperate way words cannot describe. This is not my "good dead" this is my GOOD GOD. I am so immeasurably blessed and unworthy and so very dependent on him for everything. I literally am praying "Lord give me this day my daily bread". And he does, everyday. Without him I am nothing and I have nothing and that is the best place I have ever been.
God is calling you to go. In Isaiah 6:8 we read "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, "Here am I. Send me!". GO into the dark places and SHINE light.
This is my anything story, this is me saying God anything for you. What will be yours? You are WONDERFULLY and FEARFULLY made in his BEAUTIFUL image, what will you do with that today?
Much Love,
Chrystan
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