Life on the Narrow Road

The Journey of a Christ Follower

My Child it Will Be Ok

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My child it will be OK, these are the words that the Lord reminds me of each day! As a follow up to my last post I wanted to write about the hope I have through everything. In a life full of confusion, hurt, anger and emotion we will often question God on why! I do it so much and that is why I am writing this. I’m reminded of Job in these times. A man who lost pretty much everything and was countlessly tried by the enemy. Through all of this though he remained faithful.

There is this thing called a dry season and if you are like me at all it feels like it is never going to end! It’s as if we just hopped on the world’s longest roller coaster! Oh yeah and it is still rolling.  Part of this long dry season is all the why’s we ask. Why do I think I’m not good enough? Why did God put this person in my life? Why can’t I do anything right? All these why’s do are tell me that it’s not going to be ok. Then on top of that I have the enemy behind in my ear telling me, “See Zach I told you no one cares about you!” I can say that of my roughly 7500 days on this earth, 5000 plus of them I have heard this lie being told into my life!

With all of this being said, how can I possibly believe that everything is going to be ok? Sure I could put on a smile and pretend that everything is fine, but what good would that do. It isn’t to hard to see through that mask on me anymore. Honestly, it is a challenge most of the time to trust God in these times. However, countless times I have opened His Word and right there in front of me is a verse that says I am with you or I won’t leave you. It is because of these reminders that I am reminded that I am going to be ok! I don’t know what you are going through or what people are telling you, but if I can tell you one thing it is this. GOD IS WITH YOU, HE WON’T LEAVE YOU, HE LOVES YOU!

Broken but Redeemed

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I come to you Lord broken and in need

Tears rolling like a stream

Begging like a beggar at the feet of the King

Hoping one day to hear You say Well Done

Longing to be forgiven for everything

I am broken but redeemed

Singing of His Victory

It was Christ in me

Who bore my sin on Calvary

And it is in His name that I shout Redeemed

My strength is found in You O Lord

I have none to give

As I lay on the ground with nothing left

Fighting for a chance

It is because of you that I choose to dance

I am broken but redeemed

Singing of His Victory

It was Christ in me

Who bore my sin on Calvary

And it is in His name that I shout, Redeemed

You pulled me out of darkness

You pulled me out of the pit

For I will praise You

It is to You that I say thank you

For never giving up on me

I am broken but redeemed

Singing of His Victory

It was Christ in me

Who bore my sin on Calvary

And it is in His name that I shout, Redeemed

I come to You Lord broken and ready to scream

Always hoping to live my dream

I can’t keep living this way

I’m tired, I’m worn, I’m exhausted

Close to saying I am done and living for myself

But today and forevermore I live for the King who Redeemed

The Meaning of Serving

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Serving was never meant for self-gain, but for the glory of Christ and the giving up of self. Through observation I have realized that the most amazing servants God has placed on this earth have served with John 3:30 in mind. They don’t serve for money, for attention or for no reason. The purpose of why they serve is Jesus! They want to see His Kingdom built, not their “kingdom”. Most people love the lights and want to be seen, but another observation is that true servants are the real daily warriors. If this hits you like it has hit me then we might just witness a large chain reaction. I have been the opposite of these things, but God has been teaching me through people and circumstances what a true servant looks like.

Something that I strive after is the quality of joy in serving. All to often people burn out from serving. It is because they lost the true joy in serving and also, they only did it for self-gain. Serving always starts with the Lord. If we choose to something or someone above the Lord, we will find ourselves burnt out. Serving will always be built on sacrificially giving up of self and choosing to live a life where each day is a battle. That is why I called true servants, real warriors. Each day they wake up to a new day, where people will walk all over them. Also, they will likely live a life of going unnoticed. This is why there is beginning to be less and less true servants. Many, as is human nature, aren’t willing to give up of self completely for the Lord. Until we, yes all of us including me, decide to let self go and give all control over to Christ, more and more true servants will vanish with a legacy that should be told but won’t.

All of these things have been convicting in my life as I so desirably want to be a true servant of Christ. I can say that I have started all my areas of serving with the sole intention of self-gain. It didn’t take me very long to ask myself why? Probably the greatest thing I have learned so far, and this also answers why, is that joy is found in self-sacrifice. I can’t tell you how many times I had to give up of self to go somewhere and it was in those moments that joy luminated. I don’t know about you all, but I am ready to leave the pain of serving for self-gain. I want to strive to live fully for Jesus and choose to serve fervently, even if people don’t understand.

Hope In the Darkness

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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

 

Yeah, so darkness I have found out lately is not much fun. I don’t even know how people enjoy the dark honestly. Now, let’s clarify something here real quick, I understand that mentally speaking, occasionally our eyes need rest from all the lights and exhaustion. What I am trying to say is, how can someone say they love darkness? One of my favorite things to do is walk out on a sixty degree day when there is a slight breeze and just breath in and out and let the crisp air hit my face. ( you should try this) It’s in these moments that I am reminded of all the hope I have in Christ. Too most people this is the craziest thing someone can say and I am ok with that, but I want everyone to know and have this same hope.

 

Why is it that someone can have any hope when life is hitting you hard and all it seems like your life is about is hurting, pain and darkness? Honestly, in my life and my whole belief in Christ, it’s in those moments and days that I realize all I have is Christ. My life is incomplete without God. As Christians ALL our hope must be found in Christ. For those who don’t believe, you might be wondering how does this have anything to do with me since I don’t have the same hope as you? I would love for you to hear me out for a moment. Ask yourself, when you are going through a hard time in life, where do you find hope or look for hope? What does that hope of yours offer you? Just think about those two questions for a moment. Even those who do believe in Christ and like me would say they put there hope in Christ, please think about these two questions, DEEPLY. Now do those things that bring you “hope” actually bring you any hope?

 

Personally, I fail at this way to often, I have put my hope in things other than God and have only found a dark pit calling my name. I could write on and on about the many things I have looked too for hope and only one of them prevails and gives me a hope that often times I can’t begin to even explain. His name is Jesus. I want us all to think about what it gains us in life when we put our hope in something other than Christ? Honestly, I get it, my first human instinct when I find myself hurting is to run to what the world quote on quote has to offer me. It has taken me twenty years to realize that when I do that, I end up in a deeper hole than before. I have absolutely no idea what anyone is going through, but what I do know is that each and everyone of us is loved deeply by God and it is when we look to Him when we will find True Hope.  Their have been many, many days where life is just hard and I wonder why? It’s the hope I have in Christ that prevails through the darkness.

 

Okay, I have gone this far through and haven’t even told you all what my hope even means. The hope and truth I have and hold is knowing that one day Christ will come back and I will get to spend eternity with the Glorious King. The hope I have is that one day I will get to hear the two words I always imagined hearing, WELL DONE. The hope I find in Christ is that He sent His son Jesus to Die for you and I, because He loves us that much and wants us to have this hope. YES! All I have is Christ, All I want is Christ, and because of the hope I have I want All to know this very same hope.