2020 A Year of Very Low Lows and Very High Highs

Over the past several months, I've heard countless people say that 2020 has been a horrible year. 

I left work on March 13, 2020; a Friday-ready to start my Spring Break, but as we all know, everyone's plans were put on hiatus. 

I beg to differ that it has been a horrible year. As my title says, there have been some low lows, but I wouldn't accredit any of them to Covid. 

Overpowering any of those low lows however, are the very high highs that came this year. 

For me personally, one of my highest highs that has come out of this year is finding my "family" and the freedom and healing that has come and continues to come through that. Not my biological family, but my family of brothers and sisters who daily encourage and spur me on to Christ. Those who want to see me succeed and hold me accountable. Those who have surrounded me, held me and prayed for me when I can't stop sobbing. 

The funny thing is, I've known these people now for the better part of 3 years, yet this year something shifted and it had nothing to do with them, and everything to do with me. I decided to finally let down those walls of mine, and let these brothers and sisters in to all of my "mess". I've been learning how to receive love as part of my healing, and it has been beautiful. 

Another high has been gaining more focus and clarity in the things that the Lord has called me to. This year, He grew in me a desire not just for my city, but for the nations. So much so that I've woken up having dreams of specific nations; lately Afghanistan and India. I've been learning how to speak Dari, so that I can be a better witness, and seemingly out of nowhere, I got connected with a local ministry that is led by former Muslims who have all given their lives to Christ. 

And on top of that, I now get to serve and teach the children at my home church!

I don't know all of the plans that the Lord has up His sleeve, but I'm excited simply because I know the Power of the One who holds all of these things. 

Most people know that I really, really love the book of Hebrews, and that some of my most favorite verses are at the beginning of Hebrews 12:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, and set our faces like flint; it doesn't matter what goes on around us, because His sons and daughters know He is King and He is Sovereign. His plans cannot be thwarted. 

Psalm 46 says:

God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah

Friend, I don't know if you have deemed this "the worst year ever" for whatever reason: you weren't able to travel, you weren't able to watch your favorite sports team, you lost your job, you got Covid or a bad report from the doctor, or you were simply stuck in the house, whatever it was for you....BUT

As Christ followers, we should have the same attitude as that of Paul in the book of Acts, when he says: 

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God". 

Link:  A Love That Remains

In The Fire

For some reason, as a kid, I thought that I would be on fire more growing up. 

By that, I don't mean a spiritual fire. 😅 I mean a literal fire. The kind where you have to practice "Stop, Drop, and Roll".  Maybe it was due to the fact that I played with a lot of fire and liked blowing things up. 
Fortunately, I never actually caught on fire, but there was one time a few years ago that I got singed; and all I can say is that I'm glad it wasn't  full on flames engulfing me. 

Why do I say that? Where am I going with this? you may be thinking....

Well, here we go. I was sitting by the fire outside with a friend a few weeks ago having a heart to heart discussion into the wee hours of the morning, looking at the fire and thinking about how I used to have that thought as a kid, and this verse from 1 Peter 1 came to mind:

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Read that again... "...so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed..." 

This past April, I made the decision to commit to a 6 month Leadership Discipleship class with the leaders of my church. I knew that going through the process of that class would grow and stretch me, but I didn't realize just how much at the time. As with anything that's "worth it" though, those things don't come without a cost. In the summer during one of our sessions we talked about how the oldest method of purifying gold was by fire, and how the furnace would have to reach almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in order for that gold to go through the purification process. 2,000 degrees!!

We, as sons and daughters of Christ, are much more valuable to Him than gold. How much more does He want to purify us??

That has been my personal prayer lately (amongst many others)-that my heart would become more and more pliable so that I can be purified even more. 
Yet, that purification doesn't come cheap
or easily. It is costly. Usually there are trials and testing associated with it.  

In the Bible, we see that God is always found in fire. 
He was in the pillar of fire. He was in the burning bush. He was the blazing torch that passed through the sacrificial pieces when He made the covenant with Abram. He was in the fire with the 3 Hebrew teens. That has been comforting to me because I (or whoever is reading this) may not be on actual fire like I was talking about in the beginning, but I personally can definitely say the "oven" has never been cranked higher than at this time in my life, and I am having to learn to TRUST Him in that refining fire, and not even stopping there at trusting, but THANKING Him for the refining as well.  

The question is, "Will we tap out because the heat is too much or will we stay in that fire; knowing He's with us-desiring to refine us, that the genuineness of our faith would be proven and come out even stronger, and so that He would get all the glory?" 

Fires