Sharing the Gospel is Not Always a Day at the Beach

When I was about eight years old, I remember my family going to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for the day.  We picked a nice sunny spot on the beach to settle down, and then my mom let my little sister and I loose to go play in the water.  Deb and I found a water way under the boardwalk to play in, but we stayed near the shallow end at our mother's instructions.  You see, Deb and I still did not know how to swim.   However, it didn't take very long for my Deb, who was six years old at the time to get nosy and venture to the deeper parts of the water.  Within seconds of stepping into the deep end, she began to cry for help as her head began to go under. She frantically flapped her arms and began splashing in the water as she tried to come up to the surface for a breath of air.  When I realized what was happening, I initially froze in fear. I wanted to help, but I couldn't swim and yet my little sister was drowning.  All of sudden, courage hit me like ton of bricks and I knew what I had to do.  Without knowing how to swim, I jumped into the deep end to rescue her.  As I went under, I realized that there was a possibility that I might drown too, but I didn't care anymore.  I had to save my sister. Within seconds of my heroic act, a slicing pain shot through my foot as it met the floor underwater. The pain took hold of me as I realized I has stepped on something very sharp. The pain in my foot was so intense that it caused me to give up and surrender to the waters. 

 

Then, I felt his hands.  They were strong and mighty and in one quick second, he swooped in and grabbed me from the deep.  As I came up out of the water in one of his arms, I saw my sister in his other arm. Realizing that we were being rescued,  I never felt such relief in my life.  The man sat us on the sand as my little sister was crying uncontrollably. I was still in shock.   Then the pain from my foot hit me like a thousand needles while the  bloody sight of my foot  did not help the situation. I too began  to cry.  My mom who had seen the whole thing from far off ran towards us frantically while a lifeguard was summoned. When we finally stopped crying, my foot was bandaged up by the lifeguard and we went on a trip to the  hospital so I could get stitches.  It turns out I had stepped on a broken beer bottle under water.   To this day, I still have the light scar on my foot, although it has almost disappeared for good.  However, the memory will always stay with me.  

So what is the point of my story?  This morning as I got ready for work, God reminded me of this experience  to show me what sharing Jesus with others can be like for many Christians.    I'll keep it simple for you.  There is a dying world out there that needs Jesus and they are frantically calling out for help.  They are drowning in pain and sadness just like my little sister was drowning in the Santa Cruz Beach waters that hot summer day. As Christians, we are the only hope for many, but we are too scared to do anything because we feel unequipped for the task at hand.  Just as I felt unable to help my little sister because I could not swim, we feel helpless to share Christ with the unbelievers.   However, there is moment when the Holy Spirit gives us a boldness and courage that only comes from God just like the courage that came upon me in my sister's moment of need. This courage allows us to take the risk and jump into the unknown waters of life so that we can help those who so desperately need the Jesus who lives inside of us.   Just as I was unsure of the final outcome with my leap of faith that summer day, there also comes the possibility of failure and obstacles when we make our spiritual leap of faith.  In my situation,  I was met with the pain of stepping on glass and almost drowning along with my sister. However, just like the stranger on the beach  came to our rescue, our Heavenly Father is ready to take us up in his own arms and rescue us too.   So here is my advice today- Take the risk, step into the deep, and be ready to see God work because of your faith and obedience.  God honors both. You might mess up, you might stumble, the words may not come out as smooth as you would like.  You may get some who don't want to hear the Gospel.  You may even feel rejected by those who you speak to, but just know that God will honor your efforts.  Like the title of this post says, "sharing the Gospel is not always a day at the beach."  However, watching God work through us and accomplishing his task DESPITE us is amazing.  

 

April

God, Teach Me to Have Joy

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  I Thessalonians 5:18

For the longest time, I didn't know how to have fullness of joy.  It was almost like I didn't know how to be happy simply "being" me everyday. If I wasn't working on some new endeavor, some goal, or I didn't have some new adventure before me, I felt like something was wrong with me. It's not that I like being this way, but I didn't know how to be different.  As a matter of fact, God spoke to me about being in a new season of favor  and guess what, I began to ruin it with murmuring and complaining about what wasn't right in my life or what was still lacking.  Nevertheless, God kept speaking and pushing me along.  I asked Him, Please teach me to have joy in simply "being." Teach me joy in the everyday tasks of life and even in the not-so-exciting times.  He spoke ever so gently (as always) and replied, The key to having joy is being thankful for what you have and being thankful for those things that make you feel most uncomfortable.

What?????  Ok,  Lord, I get being thankful for the good things, but I also have to be thankful for the yucky things?  You mean I have to be thankful for the disagreement I just had with someone, the fact that I don't have any extra money to spend this month, the fact that my ankle  is still feeling injured, the fact that I'm still plugging away at school after so many years,  that I'm still adjusting to recent changes in my life, and the fact that I'm always so exhausted?  Hmm.  Sounds kind of hard Lord.  

Yes, April, he replied.  He continued, There is power in thanksgiving.  There is power is your daily proclamations.  Exchange your murmurings for thanksgiving and watch me work. 

So my journey started and it wasn't easy.  Every morning I got up and I began to thank God for the good and the bad.  Instead of complaining that I was exhausted after work,  I spoke to God and said, Lord, I'm so grateful for the rest that you've given me.  Instead of complaining that I had so much homework, I instead said, Lord, thank you for letting me return to school to get my Masters. I know not everyone has this privilege.  Instead of complaining about my disagreements with people,  I instead said, God, thank you for putting that person in my life to help me grow as a person. They are blessing me and challenging me to be a better person.  

I am so serious when I say that this attitude of thankfulness changed my life and continues to do so. I don't feel so tired anymore, I'm not so sensitive anymore, I feel more financially blessed than ever before, my health is improving, and I smile more than ever. I wish I knew this secret a long, long, long time ago.  There is such peace and joy in my life like never before.  Now, I want to invite you to join me in sharing in it.  But watch out because once you start, you are going to see the blessings of God pour out on you like never before.  So many times, we want to know God's will for our lives, but the Bible clearly tells us what His will is, "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5:18). So the real question is, are you ready?  If so, then repeat after me, Lord, thank you so much for  _________________ (you fill in the blank).

On a side note, I created a "thankfulness" jar and every time I receive a blessing or God speaks to me in some way or another, I record it on a piece of a paper, fold it, and put it in the jar.  My plan is to open the jar on New Year's Eve of 2013 and review all the blessings that God has poured into my life throughout the year.  I can't wait!  

Passionate about your spiritual success,

April