Seven Tons of Faith

I am most excited about this post! God has so been stirring stuff within in me (very recently) and just so happens to have a lot to do with faith. Just to remind the both of us: there are so many directions I can go with this recipe - however, I truly wish for this to be honest happenings of the moment, and not just random blabber. Take this post for what you may….but let me know what you think of it eh?

Firstly, may also note here: I am working toward being motivated for the return of school routine, after a week vacation. I’ve hoped and prayed that this break would allow me to dig deep and pull out desires to do well in studies. That previous week of school was a stretch for me! I’ve never been so annoyed with certain circumstances, even with people I barely know. High School isn’t the end of the world, but it sure isn’t on the top of my list of great places to be in! Well, this is senior year, I’ll pull through…...wait!! I don’t want to pull through, I wanna WALK through. I will not sit passively as the days pass by. I will fix my eyes on the goal and pursue the works (great or small) the Lord has set out for me! 

I state all this right away, and now, because I am going to have days when I could care less about WALKING, and feel more like crawling, and barely crossing the finish line.

Several moments, within the past week or so that I have huffed: “ugh. I feel like I don’t know what God has for me right NOW. AH. This area is where I freeze up and lose my brain!! I hold passions, desires and hopes for the future – but what about NOW?” Another huff that I’ve managed to ignore: “what if I sink? Or when will I go off-roading and get stuck in a ditch of depression?”

In my prayer life, I’ve had this tendency to somehow avoid saying this particular irritation directly to Jesus. Yeah, we have our chats throughout the day, and so my soul assumes that He knows (which He does), but He needs to know that I know He knows. My spirit must have that connection addressed properly.

The big idea for this post is: I don’t know if nor when, but I KNOW the hope. As followers of Christ, we will always go through getting to know Him. He has to be where our eyes are fixed upon.

Faith.

Standing in a grace that doesn’t make sense. Strengthening knees to stand up tall. Turning away from silence to speak. Lifting one’s head to focus on The One

This is faith.

Over the weekend, I prayed with God about my recent questions, current doubts, and my troubled heart. I’ve switched from writing everything down in silence, to speaking out loud in my room. I try to whisper, but I honestly don’t care if my family catches a few “Thank You God!” and “I love you Jesus!” slip between my walls every now and then. I’ve been able to really draw forth my expressions of His glory – more so facial expressions (excitement, awe, sorrow, etc.)

My output for this weekend consisted of sorting out my minor huffs. As I went through a process of trying to express my concern, I lifted up my hands and said: “I am lost! There are no words! Ha, I feel like the ant in Bug’s Life. A simple character, he is doing a daily route, suddenly a leaf came in the way, and he had no idea what to do…..”

Ohh well. There goes yet another childhood movie that impacted my heart for Jesus. Out of habit, I started to jot down the hint from the scene. Then I looked up the clip on YouTube. Naturally, I just had to find the exact clip, the exact time for every bit I wanted captured. After searching, I found it! Then it all hits me at once! And now I am typing it all up in this post!

VIDEO:

The imagery is a little fuzzy, not the best quality I was desperate for…yet in terms of our usage, it does fine for now :)

Let me just break it down

1. First Ant: “Oh, Oh, no. Oh no. Oh no…..I’M LOST! Where’s the line?! What do I do??!”

2. Second Ant: “We’ll be stuck here forever!”

3. Leader Ant: “Do not panic. Do not panic. We are trained professionals. Just stay calm. We are going around the leaf.”

4. First Ant: “Around the leaf!? I, I don’t think we can do that..”

5. Leader Ant: “Oh nonsense, this is nothing compared to the twig of ‘93” ants take a step. “That’s it, that’s it. Good. You’re doing great! There you go, there you go!! Watch my eyes don’t look away. And here’s the line again!”

6. First Ant: (leaping, skipping with excitement):“HeheHa! Thank you, thank you..”

7. Leader Ant: “Haha, good job everybody!”

Does this get to you? Did you notice the video edit???? “Let God into your heart and let Him be your Leader Ant to help you through life’s curve balls.”

 HA. Gee, our Father God has a sense of humor, for sure! I love the irony of it all. Truly love it. Clearly I am not just off on the deep end here, just assuming I understand the meaning of this…clearly some random person was impacted by God in such a way, that they too caught along with me!! Exciting. 

Along with my adventure in childhood films, I’ve also gone into Daniel (STRONGLY recommend reading that book in Scripture. ESPECIALLY chapter 10. Speaking of Chapter Ten, check out Hebrews chapter 10 and while your at it try 11 :)

Let’s break it down some more……

*Clearly the unknown cannot be ignored – just because we do not know.…but because it exists, and Father knows – You can guess that He will so use what we do not fathom to prove Him higher {Matthew 24:36;}

* At times, some walkers are revealed to insight…we know this because they start tremble {Daniel 10:7-9}

* Common sense and encouragement is planted in, we are reminded to not panic, and to not fear {Daniel 10:12-14}

* And, this area of unknown is nothing compared to our victory of our previous accomplishment on the cross We may have doubt...but that doesn't mean we cannot have courage! God has poured strength within us to do the unthinkable! {Daniel 10:19}

*To CONTINUE to the PATH they had to act and go around {Acts 2:28}

* “Look at my eyes, don’t look away.” – God {Psalm 121:1; Psalm 123:1; Song of Songs 5:12; Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 49:18;}

* "Good work!" {Matthew 25:21}

What do we do with an obstacle that we cannot cause to fade away? Perhaps we could move it? Often times the obstacles are indeed obstacles because we cannot move them. Therefore, we must move. 

So, what does God have in for me RIGHT NOW? Have faith.

Six Boxes of Consequence

After we make a choice…there is a result; after we act there is a reaction, a response.

Continuing out my comparison to Aladdin:

(This is a ten min clip. But only need to watch about 5 minuets, due to the ending credits)

Now, what I find most valuable in this movie, is not within the idea that I feel the directors were trying to make it look: biblically symbolic. Perhaps they did, I don’t know their thoughts…but the movie was made by Disney, and it takes some clear insight to know the deep morals in this film! I believe, as I’ve stated in a previous post something like: “not all love stories are revealed in one movie”. Aladdin only gives a small prism into the paradigm of our life. I am not saying that you can pull anything out and make it biblical, or right, I’m just going into a little “life-comparison.” There are many stories that reflect our story. Everything we do is because God created a desire to do within us. Also, we may not find the quench to our desires in the right way every time, but that doesn’t take away the intended longing for God.

In addition to my little explanation, Aladdin isn’t Jesus. Granted, you may ask: ‘well, gee Lilly, ya never said he was.” I just want to clarify here; I’m using the movie in this instance, as a symbol. Symbolic things do not mean the literal, simply a reflection.

Okay, so on with the actual juice:

Aladdin is a poor regular citizen. By chance, he ends up in a situation where he finds Jeanie in the lamp. Aladdin is given three wishes. His first wish was spent on becoming a prince to see the love of his life: Princess Jasmine. Then evil seeps into the palace and steals the lamp away from Aladdin. So the entire land is poisoned and terrible. However, Aladdin uses wisdom to defeat the sorcerer. Everything goes back to the way it was. Good wins over all. Aladdin lives happily ever after with the girl of his dreams, and Jeanie wished free!

Now, just as a side note: Aladdin did choose to lie and pretend to be a prince – this bothers his conscience. He realizes, in a way, that he’s a lie. Shortly after he attempts to tell Jasmine, the evil sorcerer takes the lamp, and becomes pretty nasty. The bad guy reveals his self-absorbed ways, and spoils everything. He criticizes the “truths”, and reveals Aladdin’s identity as a poor regular citizen. -- THIS point, I would say is the condemnation that the enemy wants us to feel after we have made a choice for our life.

 I admire how Aladdin doesn’t just sit in the wasteland that the sorcerer put him on, but rather pushes on to go back and set things right. What really gets me is that Aladdin is in a position where he has no authority and no power, yet he goes back anyhow. Then, like I said, good wins overall.

I feel that in our relationship with God, we have a similar aspect. We choose to go in a direction, and a reaction comes. No matter what life situation; whatever the enemy puts between us and the goodness of God…God wins every time. We may not see the result right away, but the Lord is always at work no matter what.

No matter what choice we choose, the consequence will always be grace.

It’s strange to conclude that, but if you were to go to the aftermath of not being faithful in brushing your teeth for a whole year – the consequence will probably a lot of cavities. Your dentist will probably be upset with you. But he/she will also instruct you some discipline habits, and then treat you if needed, and give you a chance to do better the next brushing year!

Or say, you choose to eat a healthy diet for a season (you are what you eat) you’ll be healthy!

It’s as simple as that!

No matter what path you choose to follow, God will show up in the aftermath. Obviously, keep in mind our Choice Proportion: always go by the Holy Spirit: He is your guide and counselor!