Whatever It Takes
I have been trying to write a blog post for a while now.
To be honest, I have been blocked. The Lord has not led me to write anything.
To be honest, I have been lazy and have been allowing other things to take my time away from what the Lord has wanted me to do, which is write to encourage others and bring glory to His Name.
I have been in a slump and have not wanted to be obedient. It is when I am in this pit of my own making that the Lord normally sends an event to help wake me up to my sin and disobedience. There have been several events over the past month to make me once again realize what He has called me to and once again has given me an urgency to be obedient to bring glory to His name.
Unfortunately, one of those events has grieved my soul and has caused me to do a lot of reflection on my life as it is right now.
I will talk about that event in a minute. I wanted to start with where He led me today. I was doing devotions in a local coffee shop. With 8 kids in the house sometimes my best worship and times with the Lord comes in a local coffee shop with headphones on and encouraging music drowning out the voices of the people around me.
I was in the midst of my devotions when the Lord led me to something I had saved on Facebook last month. It was a link that John Piper had on his Desiring God page. He had a little devotion by Jon Bloom about what we are to pray for our own hearts. I started copying the seven things he had listed into my own personal journal and only got through two of them. There was one phrase listed for each of them that struck me so much that I had to stop and write.
"Whatever it takes..."
That made me pause after I wrote it the second time. Reflect on that for a moment. Do I really pray that the Lord would do whatever He has to in my life to make me be obedient to Him and walk with Him in victory? Am I willing to allow Him to really do whatever it takes?
That is a very hard question to reflect on for myself and my children. Am I willing to pray that the Lord would do whatever it takes for Him to work in their lives? Even if that means that they will experience pain and loss? Even if that means that their life does not work out the way that they envision? Even if it means they struggle and things do not come easy?
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on these things.
This past year the Lord has taken me and my family on a journey of loss as I have had to deal with the sudden and unexplained death of two people associated with Spiritual Twist Productions. Wilson Brant and just last week, Rebecca Hall.
Rebecca was at rehearsal for Hunchback on a Tuesday and went to be with Jesus the next day. I had just seen her and talked to her. We got the news as we were driving to Key West for vacation. We had to make the very hard decision to stay with our vacation plans instead of returning home for the services. It was an agonizing decision but we felt that our family needed the time away together.
When things like this happens we all start to wonder how the loss of people who loved the Lord could possibly bring glory to God. We question and grieve. With our human minds we cannot wrap our heads around how He is working everything for our good and His glory.
But then my heart starts to think about how Rebecca and Wilson lived and it leads me to want to live a life that brings more glory to God. It pushes me work harder and to say yes when God is calling me to do things for Him. It gives me a sense of urgency to do more for the Kingdom of God. It makes me want to serve more. To love others more. To hug and tell people how much they mean to me. To set aside all those frivolous things that I let be my idol. To make Jesus be my desire and my treasure.
I want to say with Isaiah,
"Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deed among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
When I look back on the life of Rebecca and Wilson I want to shout about the God they both loved and served. It makes me want to proclaim the name of Jesus. I want the remembrance of their lives draw other to Christ. I do not want to wait anymore. I want to do what the Lord calls me to with however many breaths I have left in my lungs. I want my last breath to be one that proclaims His glory.
I read a quote by John Piper during my devotions today. "Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God's love and growing deep with Him, has come through suffering."
I would add that pain and loss has also made me want to live that much more deeply with Christ.
"Whatever it takes."
The times when I have been closest to the Lord have not been when things are easy but when it is hard and I experience loss.
Charles Spurgeon said, "Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls."
The losses I have experienced that last few years have each pushed me to walk closer with the Lord.
Our sweet Asa Rend.
Cindy Patrick
Pam Park
My grandmother - Hester Holder
Wilson Brant
Rebecca Hall
And many more that affected family and friends.
Each loss has hurt deeply but each one has caused me to change and walk closer to the Lord.
I want to live a life that has no regrets. I want to love others with all that I have. I want to encourage others and walk with them through their own struggles. I want to be the kind of friend that people can confide in and we can talk about our imperfections and struggles and encourage one another to walk a better walk with God.
I want to write words that God leads me to. I want to sing songs that bring glory to Him. I want to get rid of all the things that are holding me back from fully serving the Lord. I want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through me to draw others to Christ.
May I never forget the ones who have gone on before me.
May I never lose this sense of urgency to serve Him more.
May I never stop singing praises to Him.
May I never stop giving thanks for everything He has given me and all the things He has taken away.
May I always proclaim His name to others.
This is the legacy of all those who I have lost in recent years.
All Glory TO GOD.
To be honest, I have been blocked. The Lord has not led me to write anything.
To be honest, I have been lazy and have been allowing other things to take my time away from what the Lord has wanted me to do, which is write to encourage others and bring glory to His Name.
I have been in a slump and have not wanted to be obedient. It is when I am in this pit of my own making that the Lord normally sends an event to help wake me up to my sin and disobedience. There have been several events over the past month to make me once again realize what He has called me to and once again has given me an urgency to be obedient to bring glory to His name.
Unfortunately, one of those events has grieved my soul and has caused me to do a lot of reflection on my life as it is right now.
I will talk about that event in a minute. I wanted to start with where He led me today. I was doing devotions in a local coffee shop. With 8 kids in the house sometimes my best worship and times with the Lord comes in a local coffee shop with headphones on and encouraging music drowning out the voices of the people around me.
I was in the midst of my devotions when the Lord led me to something I had saved on Facebook last month. It was a link that John Piper had on his Desiring God page. He had a little devotion by Jon Bloom about what we are to pray for our own hearts. I started copying the seven things he had listed into my own personal journal and only got through two of them. There was one phrase listed for each of them that struck me so much that I had to stop and write.
"Whatever it takes..."
That made me pause after I wrote it the second time. Reflect on that for a moment. Do I really pray that the Lord would do whatever He has to in my life to make me be obedient to Him and walk with Him in victory? Am I willing to allow Him to really do whatever it takes?
That is a very hard question to reflect on for myself and my children. Am I willing to pray that the Lord would do whatever it takes for Him to work in their lives? Even if that means that they will experience pain and loss? Even if that means that their life does not work out the way that they envision? Even if it means they struggle and things do not come easy?
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on these things.
This past year the Lord has taken me and my family on a journey of loss as I have had to deal with the sudden and unexplained death of two people associated with Spiritual Twist Productions. Wilson Brant and just last week, Rebecca Hall.
Rebecca was at rehearsal for Hunchback on a Tuesday and went to be with Jesus the next day. I had just seen her and talked to her. We got the news as we were driving to Key West for vacation. We had to make the very hard decision to stay with our vacation plans instead of returning home for the services. It was an agonizing decision but we felt that our family needed the time away together.
When things like this happens we all start to wonder how the loss of people who loved the Lord could possibly bring glory to God. We question and grieve. With our human minds we cannot wrap our heads around how He is working everything for our good and His glory.
But then my heart starts to think about how Rebecca and Wilson lived and it leads me to want to live a life that brings more glory to God. It pushes me work harder and to say yes when God is calling me to do things for Him. It gives me a sense of urgency to do more for the Kingdom of God. It makes me want to serve more. To love others more. To hug and tell people how much they mean to me. To set aside all those frivolous things that I let be my idol. To make Jesus be my desire and my treasure.
I want to say with Isaiah,
"Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deed among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
When I look back on the life of Rebecca and Wilson I want to shout about the God they both loved and served. It makes me want to proclaim the name of Jesus. I want the remembrance of their lives draw other to Christ. I do not want to wait anymore. I want to do what the Lord calls me to with however many breaths I have left in my lungs. I want my last breath to be one that proclaims His glory.
I read a quote by John Piper during my devotions today. "Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God's love and growing deep with Him, has come through suffering."
I would add that pain and loss has also made me want to live that much more deeply with Christ.
"Whatever it takes."
The times when I have been closest to the Lord have not been when things are easy but when it is hard and I experience loss.
Charles Spurgeon said, "Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls."
The losses I have experienced that last few years have each pushed me to walk closer with the Lord.
Our sweet Asa Rend.
Cindy Patrick
Pam Park
My grandmother - Hester Holder
Wilson Brant
Rebecca Hall
And many more that affected family and friends.
Each loss has hurt deeply but each one has caused me to change and walk closer to the Lord.
I want to live a life that has no regrets. I want to love others with all that I have. I want to encourage others and walk with them through their own struggles. I want to be the kind of friend that people can confide in and we can talk about our imperfections and struggles and encourage one another to walk a better walk with God.
I want to write words that God leads me to. I want to sing songs that bring glory to Him. I want to get rid of all the things that are holding me back from fully serving the Lord. I want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through me to draw others to Christ.
May I never forget the ones who have gone on before me.
May I never lose this sense of urgency to serve Him more.
May I never stop singing praises to Him.
May I never stop giving thanks for everything He has given me and all the things He has taken away.
May I always proclaim His name to others.
This is the legacy of all those who I have lost in recent years.
All Glory TO GOD.
In Remembrance of Rebecca Hall - a servant of the Most High God
April 2, 1964 - April 4, 2018
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