A writer who hopes to inspire. An actor who loves to show out. A singer who has soul. A coffee drinker who's a little addicted. A Godgal who has faith, hope, and love.
If you’re a Christian twenty-something-year-old, you’ve
probably prayed more than once for God to lead you to the right job, and you just
hope that that job incorporates something you like doing with the security of
being able to pay your bills. However, sometimes life doesn’t work out like
that right away and you take anything just to keep you from being homeless.
*BACKTRACK: don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying if you’re
in that boat that God hasn’t answered your prayers. It just means that you’re
in a different step of the answered prayer.
Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about. I want
to express to you the importance of being able to honor God wherever He places
you whether it’s a transition job, a job you hate, a job that’s not ‘Christian,’
or a dream job.
When I say job that’s not ‘Christian,’ I’m referring
to a career that’s not necessarily in the ministry like a church, a Christian publication,
a mission field, etc. If you don’t have that type of job, that’s okay, you can
still be an instrument for God where your passions lie.
If you’re like me, you may be working a side-hustle
that allows you to put your efforts into your passions like writing, acting, or
music. In that line of work, God has taught me that I can make an impact doing
the most ordinary things.
I believe that working in a way that’s pleasing to God
is much more a head and heart deal than it is the physical tasks you’re doing.
Let me explain.
First of all, you need to ask yourself if you even
want to honor God in your career or workplace? If you don’t feel the need, then
you will probably act so accordingly. No worries, I’ll let you talk to God
about that yourself. BUT if you do want to take the steps, here are some things
to consider.
Seeking His will. His will is a very large umbrella
that covers most of our lives. Even Jesus Himself surrendered to what God
wanted rather than His own desire in the moment of His crucifixion. It’s also part
of how Jesus taught us to pray. “Thy will
be done.” If we truly want to do what God wants us to do, we will continue
to submit to God’s purposes even if they don’t always line up with what we want.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him that He will do it.” Psalm 37:4,5
You may be wondering…how do I know that what I’m doing
is in God’s will? That’s a whole other blog, but the short answer is this: you
don’t. At least, not 100%. But it goes back to what God has given you from the
start: talents, knowledge, passions, experience. If this is something you’ve
already committed to prayer, I believe God will make it known to you in some way.
He did for me.
Going back to His will, two foundations you’ll need
are wisdom and trust. All you need to do is continually pray for wisdom (James
1:5). Trust can be a more complicated issue. Proverbs makes it simple though.
Say it with me now…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5,6
The key word I want you to zoom in on is ‘all.’ Trust requires all your heart and in all aspects of life. But the good news is, if you both are going toward the same goal, He goes before you so that all you need to do is just keep swimming. That’s why you can trust Him.
I’ve only scratched the surface of this topic, so be
on the lookout for a part 2 where I dive deeper into Godly conduct in a less
than Godly career.
How do you feel about God in your line of work? Take
some time to think about how God has woven your life to get you to this moment.
School’s out, sun’s out, and we’re outside to enjoy it! Whether you just graduated, took the summer off, or been out of school for a while, you’re in for some kind of routine change these next few months.
It’s easy to get lost in the slew of sunshiny activities, new schedules, vacation days, and more, but one thing you don’t want to lose is your time with Jesus. Here are some activities to help enjoy summer and keep your time with God a priority.
Outdoor Devotions
If you have a regular devotion time, you probably already started doing them in the comfort of the morning sun. I love being able to enjoy the birds and the breeze and the calm of the morning while reading my Bible and devotionals. Sit on your porch, balcony, or bring a blanket out to the lawn. Have a cup of coffee or smoothie to combine with the perfect morning pick-me-up.
Painting
I love to play around with painting. My favorite place to paint is on the porch with a sermon or some worship music playing in the background. It helps me focus, feeds my spirit, and exercises my creative juices. I paint rocks, shells, and canvases. Some have verses or images pressing on my heart. Even if painting isn’t your thing, you can do something else like wood carving, knitting, puzzles, sketching, while allowing God to minister to your soul through teaching or music.
Hiking
Nothing brings the heart closer to God than nature in my opinion. Its unmistakable beauty can be such a clear representation of God’s fingerprint. Bring a friend or a group and hold a Bible study at a picturesque location. Don’t get too distracted by the scenery—the point is to be surrounded by God’s beauty as you fellowship and dig into His Word.
Camping
The summer is the perfect time for a retreat. Longer than a hike, camping takes you out of the luxuries of the world and brings you back to the basics. Camping can be a good time to escape from every day distractions so that you can pray under the stars or spend time in the Bible by the fire. If you can’t go far, you can take a mini-retreat via tent in the backyard.
Night of Worship
Sticking with the camping theme, a simple worship and fellowship around a small bonfire can be so refreshing. It’s a time to get intimate with people, with yourself, and with God. Time to share feelings, encourage others, and simply worship. I guarantee you and your friends or family will want to have another one soon.
Be Thankful
Nowadays, summers fly by, so make sure you’re relishing this one with thanksgiving. Before we know it, the nights will turn cold and coats and boots will be coming out of storage. Be thankful for the sun, the rain, and the time with family and friends. Be aware of new life, new blessings, and the change that summer sweeps over your life.
No matter how much you do this summer: vacation time, friend time, family time, work time, beach time…it will never be as fulfilling as Jesus time. Shine some light on the soul this summer. Have fun, make memories, and grow into the next season of life!
Do you remember jumping on the trampoline when you were a
kid? You couldn’t wait to get your shoes off and throw yourself on the taught
black netting. You’d squat down and launch into the air, land and propel even
higher the second and third time.
The thrill was that feeling in the pit of your stomach. You
know the one. When you’re at the peak of your jump with your stomach lifted
into your ribcage and your hair floating and outstretched like your arms. It
was the moment of flight just before you returned to the springy mesh for
another go.
Do you ever feel like that in life? I know I have,
especially this past year. I felt like I had jumped higher than I’d ever jumped
before, reaching for a pivotal moment in my life, and then…I just stayed there.
I hovered with my intestines wrapped around my lungs and my feet flailing in
the air, anticipating the descent, but never getting permission to land.
I was stuck. Stuck because I had done all I could and I just
had to wait for something to happen. Stuck because this could change everything.
My life felt halted even though time did not. I kept thinking, “if I only knew,
if I could only speed things along, I could get on with my life.”
But it was a season. A necessary one even though I still
don’t know all the reasons why it was necessary. If you’re still in the air,
let me give you some advice while you’re up there.
Acknowledge it
It’s okay to know that this is how you feel
and it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also okay not to know what’s going on. If you
trust that God knows what He’s doing, you know that this unpleasantness is not
just to make you squirm.
Pray
I’ve never felt more dependent on God than
I have this year. I could do nothing but make little attempts at controlling
the situation, but ultimately, God had the final word. It could be a word you
like and it could be a word you don’t, but know that it’s coming and the best
thing you can do is pray God will help you wait for it and that He will help
you prepare for the result.
Don’t make impulsive decisions
When I get impatient, I start making rash
decisions and paying for them later. As soon as you start to take matters into
your own hands thinking you’re helping God along rather than the other way
around, I guarantee you’ll regret it. They either hurt or do absolutely nothing
to help the situation.
Remember it’s temporary
I read something on Twitter that said, “all
suffering has an expiration date.” I relate that to trials of any kind whether
it be temptations, suffering, overcoming people and places, even feelings. All
of it lasts for a season, even if it’s a long season. The best way to help the
time go by painlessly is to let God do His thing, and to do less kicking and
screaming and more surrendering. A drowning victim has a better chance of
surviving when they stop fighting their rescuer and just simply let themselves
get dragged to shore.
Pray
Did I already say this? It’s worth
repeating. Jesus wants to walk alongside us, especially through our moments of
extra struggle. If we just grit our teeth and plow through on our own, we could
miss out on valuable growth in our relationship with the Most High, who wants
nothing more than our heart. Talk to God as much as you need and ask Him what
He’s trying to say during this time. He’ll answer the way your heart needs to hear
it.
I thought I knew what it would look like to
finally come down from being suspended in the air. I thought I would drop and
hit the ground running full speed ahead. Whereas that might be true for some,
it wasn’t for me. Instead, God eased me down so slowly, I didn’t even know He
was doing it.
He lowered me back to earth, rested my feet
on the ground, and now as if I’m a child, He’s shuffling me forward one step at
a time.
Remember what goes up, must come down
eventually, and it will be at the pace you need with the next step laid out in
front of you.
Your time of being unstuck is coming. But
whether you’re stuck or unstuck, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and
just keep going.
God bless!
-LJM
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like spring whose waters never fail.
It’s that time
of year when the sun shines and suddenly you’re aware of every piece of dusty
furniture, smudged glass, and clogged gutter and you dedicate every spare
moment taking part in the reluctant but necessary ceremony of spring cleaning.
Don’t worry!
I’m not going to give you literal housecleaning tips. You’re going to have to
jazz that up your own way. However, I would like to encourage you to take the
duster around your heart in case any cobwebs have started to build up. Here are
some ways to get started.
Look for the dirt
Are there
choices or habits that just aren’t working for you? Do you find yourself in a
rut rather than a routine? Now’s the time to stop in your tracks, look those
bad boys in the eyes, and say “We’re gonna fight.” It’s time to be active not
passive. Take the time to make a list of the things in your life that are
missing, not working, or just plain harmful. Recognize them and pray about
them. They are issues for a reason, and God is the only one who can give you
enough strength to wrestle with them.
Sort through the mess
Just like when
we decide to sort through closets, attics, or storage space, we must sort
through the areas that affect us spiritually, mentally, and physically.
What are our priorities? How do we manage our time? What do we spend our money
on? How are relationships? Keep whatever brings a smile to your face and
discard the unnecessary in your life.
Prepare for your plan of attack
Now that
you’ve asked the hard questions, it’s time to fast and pray about what God has
revealed to you. Fasting depends heavily on prayer for strength, discipline,
patience, and whatever you’re wanting to accomplish through this cleanse.
It’s humbling, it’s difficult, it’s refreshing, and it’s beneficial in
many ways. However you decide to fast (food, media, TV), lean on the grace of
God to help you grow closer to Him. He may reveal ways to help with this
process. He may give you the added strength to be done with somethings that’s
hindering your growth. Or He may spiritually reset your mind.
Clear the clutter
This is when
you officially act. I look at clutter as anything that has crowded your life in
a negative way and has kept you from Jesus. Whatever that may be, come up with
a plan to deal with them. Take it one day at a time and know that you’re not
going to step into perfection, but you can step into progress.
Spring
cleaning can be grueling, but the whole reason we do it is because we want to
be surrounded by the things that make us feel good and healthy and proud. Do
this for your soul and for your mental health. Your spirit will thank you.
If you take the time to go through these steps, you’ll be ready to walk lighter and smile brighter, feeling renewed, rejuvenated, and redeemed.
You’ll hear talk of the ranch from me. I can’t escape it. That’s how it is with things indelible. They become a part of you and never leave you. Rancho el Camino is like that.
The ranch was a God-calling. One of those rare moments when you know He is speaking directly to you and there is no going back. Only forward. Into something entirely unknown. Radical. Without borders. You move forward because in your heart you know that, with Him, you are in the best place you can be no matter how scary it looks.
But how it started—before it was a calling, before we sold everything we had and packed up our van and five kids to drive across the border—before all that, it was just Him and me in a cement dorm. A sacred meeting I’ll never forget.
We were on a short-term trip to Mexico. My husband, Peter, myself, and a team of youth group kids from NJ. It was July. And it was hot. I mean really hot. Tip the scales hot with 100 percent humidity. I was seven months pregnant with my youngest and fortunate to wear medical stockings that take hours to get into on a dry day. I was an emotional wreck even before the fever hit.
Our team got ready for the morning—a full day of evangelism in a mountain village with people I didn’t know, a language I didn’t speak, food I couldn’t eat, and fly-ridden outhouses I shouldn’t use. When the man in charge heard me tell Peter I couldn’t go—more because of the fever than the outhouses—the man said, “Buck up. Get out there. No one stays behind.”
I cried on my husband’s shoulder until I got to stay behind.
So, there I sat. Alone. Tired. Hot. In a cement dorm room with bugs as big as my fists. The team gone and no one to talk to. Feeling quite pitiful. Telling God how wrong He was to bring me there. How I wasn’t a missionary. How I wasn’t an evangelist. How I didn’t like being in foreign countries, or even people that much. How I was sick and pregnant, and couldn’t He see how miserable I was?
In that room I wrestled with my failures and my inadequacies. As a wife, and mother, and even deeper, as a believer. How will I ever be used by God? When everyone else was so excited to be serving, and I didn’t even want to be there. My husband lived for those moments. In fact, he was made for them. God could use him, I knew that. But me? How could I call myself a Christian when I felt so spiritually weak? When I’d rather hide. When I’d rather be alone.
It was in that dorm, in that moment, God gave me the scripture that He would later use to call us to full-time missions in Mexico—ten amazing years in the desert to develop a ranch for kids. To use my love for horses to reach thousands. But I couldn’t see it then. Only how miserable I was. How ill-equipped and disqualified to make any kind of impact.
But the Lord gave me something else that day too. Something sweet and transcending. He spoke gently to my heart. To my turmoil inside.
He said: Child, I am not calling
you to be someone you are not. I did not make a mistake when I knit you
together. You may never be an evangelist. You may never be comfortable in a
crowd. Or in a strange land. But you are uniquely you, with your own gifts I
have given you. Not to be altered or changed by what others think you should
be. Nor by your own guilt or judgement. Your equipping ground is to grow closer
to Me. And through that, you will know who you are and who I made you to be.
You mean, You will use my passions and gifts? Those things already a part of who I am? For Your glory?
Yes.
The fishes and the loaves. My favorite Bible story. Many
of us know it. A multitude needed to be fed—five thousand men. Not including
all the women and children. The disciples found one boy willing to give up his
lunch—two small fish and five loaves of bread.
But the disciples said, “What are these for so many
people?”
Who am I
to make an impact when all I have is this?
What the boy had in his sack was only enough to feed
himself. That’s it. But in the hands of Jesus, the small offering became an abundance.
It impacted thousands.
The boy could have held onto his lunch, guarded it, kept
it secret to make sure he didn’t go hungry. He would have walked away with a
good sermon and a full belly. But he would have missed the miracle. He would
have never known what happens when his meager offering is placed in the hands
of the Master.
That’s the thing. You and I can labor and strain and strive, and at the end of the day we’ll have enough to feed ourselves—maybe. And we don’t step out because ourgifts and talents seem insignificant. Inadequate, with no true purpose or value. Not like that other guy, the one with the great platform and leadership skills. That disciple who really knew Jesus. He has what it takes.
Remember, the Lord didn’t create you to be like that guy or that girl. You are NOT your coworker. Or your friend. Or the neighbor with the list of accolades. NOT the one who looks like they have it all together or the one who seems to juggle everything with perfection.
You are you. Uniquely shaped for your own Kingdom purpose. It’s not about what you lack, but what you already have.
And no matter how scary it looks, step into it. Release it. Because in your hands—your very own hands—you hold exactly what He needs to make miracles happen!
Cher Gatto
-Author and Novelist -President of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) NY/NJ Chapter -Co-Founder of Rancho el Camino, La Paz, Mexico -Pastor’s wife and Mom of five amazing teenagers and young adults
Her award-winning novel SOMETHING I AM NOT released in January 2019 and was a #1 New Release on Amazon.
