Adventures with God

The Invitation.

One of the things that gets me up in the morning is that I believe that Jesus is real, powerfully at work in the world and inviting me to join him.

It seems outrageous to think that we get to be part of a movement of people throughout history that have surrendered their ‘yes’ to Jesus and chosen to go boldly wherever he asks them to go and courageously do whatever he asks them to do.

That’s what I signed up for, though. It’s what we as a family have signed up for. In fact, I remember a time sitting with my now wife on a bench in sunny Cambridge having a conversation about not having an ordinary life. Even then there was a sense that we would not take the road so well-travelled.

We moved to Derry~Londonderry because we felt ‘God speaking’ to us, which for many people is an entirely ludicrous concept. Yet, the voice of God has been the bedrock of our lives and choices. We don’t always get it right, but it is the heart of how we live (how we discern the voice of God I’ll tackle in another entry).

It’s one thing involving your family to join you in this wild adventure with God but lately we’ve been calling the church community we lead to do the same. To follow the prompting and leading of God to go boldly where he says and courageously do what he asks. I don’t take that lightly either – it’s a sacred thing to lead and there are many who have been hurt by foolish or gun hoe leadership. Then, I was chatting to a friend the other day who reminded me that we are hard wired for this. This adventure with God, to live a life beyond ourselves, to step out in faith into something that is bigger than us, to see an impossible dream come to pass. It’s what we’re made for.

Sure, our comfort and safety and the disappointments we carry keep us stuck but we’re made for the road less travelled.

God is always at work around us, as Jesus told us (John 5:17). He pursues a love relationship with us that is real and personal. We know that any relationship that’s worth it’s weight in gold is built on trust. And so, God invites us to partner with Him through trusting Him. He speaks to us to reveal His purpose and His ways and to call us deeper into this adventure with Him.

What follows is often a crisis moment where we feel like we’re in a tail spin, our inadequacies stare us in the face and the task seems impossibly big. But it is a moment of faith – will we step out or not. Will we follow or not. Will we go down the well-worn track or will we take the road less travelled. The way we choose will make all the difference.