Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Ultimate Journey

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
and my faith will be made stronger 
in the presence of my Savior.
[Oceans, Hillsong]


Welcome to my blog; thanks for stopping by! :) 
Like I wrote in my introduction, I am just a girl trying to get as close to the heart of God as possible. And while I'm at it, I want to bring others with me! My goal is not to impress anyone; my goal is just to love Jesus with all my heart, however that may look in my life. 

God is calling me to come deeper with Him, to walk upon the waters with Him. He's calling me to take some leaps of faith that I've never taken before. Two years ago God radically changed my life vision and called me to Africa to minister to orphans, His precious children. A year later I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Ethiopia with World Orphans through Journey117. And I am now in the process of preparing for a three month trip to South Africa next year! I plan to share some of those things more in detail with you. If you're up for it, I invite you to come along with me on this journey! But I'm learning that the real journey is not to Africa, or even to the mission field at all. 

The real journey is to God's heart. Although I have so many dreams for my life, the ultimate goal of my life is not to fulfill my grandiose dreams of being in full time ministry, or having a beautiful Christ-centered marriage, or pouring out my love on a house full of colorful, beautiful children from all over the world. All those things are amazing! But they are not the ultimate goal. God is teaching me that the ULTIMATE goal is:  

Knowing. His. Heart. 

It is the ultimate goal because it can be done in any culture, condition, or circumstance. It doesn't require a certain certification, degree, qualifications, or certain talents or abilities. God has made Himself so knowable; His heart freely available to anyone who would seek Him with all their heart! 

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13

That is why my journey is not about going to Africa. It's not about having the perfect ministry or marriage. My journey is to the heart of God! Even if everything else in my life fails, but at the end of my life I can say that I pressed on to know God as much as I possibly could, no matter what, I will have won. The ultimate test of success in life is not about how much good you did for other people, or even how many lives you changed. The ultimate success is knowing God, because that is why we were created. We were created first and foremost for a love relationship with Him. 

So before I go off with my dreams to change the world, God makes my heart remember and reflect on the ultimate goal. Even if I change the world for Christ, but didn't know Him intimately, I have failed! 

 "On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
[Matthew 7:22-23]
 
 I want more than anything for this NOT to be me! I was created to know and love Him, and to be known and loved by Him. It's so simple; it's all about a relationship. Yet I find it easy to forget so many times. But in His faithfulness He reminds me that He didn't just call me to Africa or to ministry. 

He has called me to His heart. 

Wherever I go in life and whatever ministry He may give me, it will only be a small step in the ultimate journey to knowing His heart.

Keep pressing on toward the ultimate goal!

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
 Philippians 3:14