Do not grow weary!

Let us not lose heart in doing what is good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. - Galations 6:9

Galations 6:9 has been the verse of this season. Do not grow weary. Many sleepless nights have faded by, and my body feels the weight of it. Meal times have passed and my stomach stayed empty, no appetite at all. My quiet times are distant and distracted at best. Every part of my physical and spiritual body feels the effects of this season.

Still, in God's strength alone, I press on. Ministry is everywhere and in everything. There are always places to serve and to be used by God. There are days when I wake up, if I had slept at all, and I have to look deep within to find the energy to get up. Some days I feel as though there isn't much to look forward to, apart of the challenges of the season. I feel myself begin to grow weary.

I spent some time doing some soul searching, asking some hard questions and I found that it is not the challenges that are causing me to lose heart, but the neglect in my most important relationship. I have my best friend, my lover, my savior living within me, yet I don't always talk to Him. I don't always just rest with Him. Infact, lately I've been struggling to do that at all.

Do not grow weary! I can't grow weary when I'm connected to Him. There's nothing I need when I'm in His presence, when I'm in His arms. I need to spend more time with Him.

A Season of Struggle

Well, as most of you know, I am in Maui now. I arrived a couple weeks ago. I was fully certain that I was walking into a paradise with struggles and challenges but I found I was more walking into struggles and challenges in paradise.

From the moment of my arrival, nothing has gone as previously planned, even my pick up at the airport. From that moment forward, every second of everyday has been filled with intense challenges, unlike any I have experienced before.

I haven't started my job with the church yet, but I'm planning on it shortly. My days have been filled with a different type of relationship based ministry and various personal struggles. I am in the process of being stretched, molded, and refined. I'm coming to the end of my own abilities to cope, no matter serve. It is a wonderful place to be. It is now that the Lord can use me. It is now that the Lord can truly work through me.

I'm not alone in my struggles. Most - actually, it is ALL - of the church leadership right now are experiencing various types of severe personal struggles. Each individual is turning to the Lord. Various friendships are being strengthed with visits for prayer and fellowship. Each person, despite their own struggles, is taking time to step out and serve and pray for others.

God is fully present as well. He is not holding back His grace. Our church moved last week off the beautiful beach and into a historical theatre in the slums of this island. It was our first Sunday there and we had a great number of people. Our worship time was the best I have ever experienced in a corporate setting, not because of the music but because of God. Many were in tears, all were singing and praising the Lord as if the sun had been shining on them all. Through the worship leader's personal struggles and brokenness, we were taken to a place of sincere and true worship.

This is a beautiful season we are in. It is a season of much suffering, much pain, hurt, exhaustion and even desparation, but yet this is our chance to truly worship the Lord, not for what He has done but for who He is.

Pray for me and the leaders in the church. Pray that we see God in all of this. Pray that we seek Him always, in all things, despite all that is happening. Pray that we don't grow weary. Pray that we don't stand in our own strength. Pray that in this season, we begin to see the Lord in a new light, in a new way and come into greater relationship with Him.

Vancouver – Written Jan 29 9:18am Pacific Time.

I’m sitting in my terminal right now in Seattle, WA. I have just left Stephen at security. As I sit here, I reflect on the ways I saw God this weekend. It is often the most unexpected places and situations that help you to see God and this weekend was like that. In Vancouver, Stephen took the last day and a half to show me around and welcome me into his community there. I had a chance to see sights I had always wanted to see, like Squamish for example. I also saw God through people, amazing people.

In nature, like Squamish and Lighthouse Park, I had a chance to truly appreciate the beauty of God’s great creation. I had a chance to see into God’s adventurous side, with the cliff faces dropping hundreds of feet, with slippery rock, so beautiful to hike along, with the perfect crack climbs, slab and overhangs. God knew exactly what He was creating and how it would simply awaken hearts and challenge the abilities and nerve of the most adventurous athletes. God is a wild God. He takes pleasure in our adventure even more than we do. I love this part of God’s character because I know this adventurous spirit is so present in me.

I also saw God through Stephen. The hospitality, sense of community and incredible unconditional and pure love in a friendship manner that he showed me, revealed to me even more of God’s character. God loves to listen, to hear, to share and to encourage each of His children. Stephen’s words of encouragement and even the listening ear he gave spoke to me much of God’s patience and tender heart. Stephen’s incredible desire to honour and respect people really spoke to me of exactly how God wants us to be the best individual we are, honouring us in the unique way that He created us. It was not hard to see aspects of God’s loving character in a man so honouring, respectful, loving and caring as a man like Stephen. It is a beautiful thing to be with people who require nothing of you and expect nothing of you yet are willing to support you, honour you and serve you to the best of their ability. (It is also slightly difficult to accept, yet awesome at the same time.)

I love that we can so clearly see God in the everyday, in the every moment that we live. We can see Him in people, in possessions, in situations, in nature, in media. Every where we look there He is, blessings us with the things that make us tick, that make us who we truly are. What an awesome God we have.

He loves us as we are. Each part of us, He put it there. It serves a purpose and He loves it. He loves even your adventurous heart, you fiery passion, you protective nature, all the things that we can describe ourselves as. Our God is so passionately in love with you. You are His most beautiful peace of art.