Volume 42: Rest in Action

 

This morning, I was set to go to breakfast at 9:30. But OOPS I slept in until 9:08! So I was unable to do my readings before heading out, and was bummed about that because I find great joy in starting the day reading the gospels. And then, I started thinking about how AWESOME the gospels are....

I had the thought, Jesus could have spent His time on earth as an author, writing books about how to live a life for Him, how to build relationships, how to handle conflict, how to speak to others, insert EVERY topic here... And we could have those books today and be able to read them. 

And while I would absolutely love to read Jesus's books, how unique is it that He chose to instead spend His time on earth serving and teaching and loving others. He didn't have to write His own books because He led by example. And allowed the Spirit to move through others to write the accounts of the life He lived. 

As we are now in the middle of the summer, I am starting to feel the lack of being able to go to church or have more time to read and journal weigh on me. But today I am challenged, in my pursuit of becoming more like Jesus, to remember that it is so important to take advantage of the opportunities that surround me. To allow God to work through me and use me.

That if Jesus were here, at Camp Ozark, this summer, WOAH He would be doing great things! 

He would be laughing with the campers and telling them about Himself. Blobbing and cheering in the chow hall and asking questions in devo.

He would be patient with the staff and interact with each of them, empowering them yet also challenging them. And treat each one as an individual.

He would be focused on His mission and wouldn't allow external factors distract Him. 

He would give an unbelievable Primetime talk, relating to middle schoolers yet also holding them accountable in truth. 

He would stop what He was doing to love someone that needed to feel seen and heard. 

As much as I would love to spend a summer in our cabin in Blue Ridge, relaxing and writing and reading, there is so much value in spending our time serving others and actually living out the gospel. And I find comfort in the fact that we have the same Spirit in us, ready to move and work. 

We are officially halfway through the summer! It's flying by! Today, I have taken some time to reflect over the first half of the summer, and I am aware that I have allowed the enemy to steal my joy in a lot of ways. And that's not what I want for the summer! 

I haven't been the most positive or joyful presence to be around (I apologize to Yellerton and Debbie ok!). It's easy to fall into the trap of complaining with a twist of sarcasm, to maybe make it seem not as negative. But at the end of the day, it's still not healthy, nor glorifying to God! 

I want to work on taking my frustrations and doubts straight to God in prayer. For when I do that, I am able to gain perspective MUCH faster, and remember that my problems are SO SMALL. So instead of talking to the people around me, which is especially easy to fall into in this environment since we do life together so closely, I shall look to the only one who can provide. 

It's easy here to go horizontal to your peers, looking for joy or recognition or answers. But as Debbie stated this week, "we are not here to serve each other - we are serving Him and as soon as that relationship starts to get janky, everything else starts to fall apart."

In this job, my pride is greatly exposed - believing that I deserve more recognition or am working so hard, etc. I have been challenged to remember that I am not serving Camp Ozark. I am not here to please leadership or get a "good job!" from anyone.

I am here to assist in the amazing mission of Camp Ozark - building God's Kingdom together. An incredible opportunity! 

And as Frannie pointed out, I too often desire to be perfect. Yet, as you all know... I am far from perfect! As much as I try to resist it, I am going to MESS UP! All the time. Every day. Because I am simply a broken sinner. Yet, God knows that and continues to extend His mercy, love and forgiveness to me each and every day. 

May I find rest in the fact that I am not called to be perfect, especially in my job. Jesus deserves me to simply serve Him to my best ability, giving Him everything I have. For He deserves all of me because of what He did for me.

_________________________________________

Rest found in Scripture this week:

In chapter 2 of Luke, there's mention of 2 people that you never hear much about - Simeon and Anna. They are both old in age and very faithful. They had both been waiting so long to see the Messiah. I imagine they had many moments when they felt weary of praying and feeling like God wasn't there and was not going to show up. YET they remained faithful and ended up seeing the Messiah for themselves! 

Jesus, may I have faith - the trust, patience and faithfulness - like Simeon and Anna. A life centered around worshipping you and you alone. That even after over 84 years of waiting, I will not give up praying to you. For you are good and will always keep your Word.