“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34 NIV)
There is an incredibly weighty pressure felt upon my shoulders when/if I seek to please people. As I sit here in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as night has come and my teammates all are fast sleep, I find myself addressing the stirring of the Spirit within me. I do not want to be a people pleaser but rather a God pleaser (Ephesians 5:8-10)!
It is not common, at least in American culture, for us to deny our own wants, hopes, and aspirations to ask God to give us His! In fact, this scares us and we seem to run from it! Often I have found myself feeling a great burden to need to please people (and myself)… Get a ‘real’ job, pursue wealth, prosperity, and stability, make a name for yourself, be accomplished, get married, etc. etc. in fact, sometimes I have a strong longing to just be rich, debt free, and living in stability, security, and comfort. However, I truly sense the Holy Spirit inviting me to a place of radical and reckless abandonment from the things of this world to the things of God’s heart!! Seek Him and His Kingdom (His will) FIRST!
Being here in Honduras, seeing a multitude of kids lacking basic hygienic and medical supplies, without the revelation and invitation of the gospel message to an eternity changing love relationship with Jesus, I am more and more convinced that my life is not my own!! It has been bought for a purpose , and that purpose is to pursue God and see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven! I know the power and presence of Jesus Christ in my heart and life, but am I willing to share it? Will I pursue His will over my own, surrendering my life to His service, or will I strive to chase my own will, life plans, and direction?!
The kids here, and throughout Latin America can’t even afford the convenience of worrying about tomorrow, because today they wonder where their next meal will come from… and a ‘meal’ may mean sharing a mango, having a scoop of rice, or some scrap bread! Yet God’s heart yearns for YOU and ME to be about His will and plan for our lives! I am certain that for me He is saying to let go of my plans, my will, my direction for life and to whole heartedly with reckless abandonment fight for children who have no one fighting for them!! It is NOT about my will or want, but more importantly it is about pursuing God’s Kingdom
