Desire
It has been 2 weeks since my last post. Much is happening. in Narnia when it was dark and bleak, hope first appeared when this line was muttered by a beaver, "They say ASLAN is on the move." Aslan, the Christ figure - the very menion of his name made the children both excited and scared. Sometimes following God is scary.

My good friend has "landed" in his new post with Young LIfe in a small town far from home. He gave up the "world" and moved his wife and three young children to a strange town so he could minister to teenagers. Teenagers! Tough group to sell everything and move for but he has a passion for working with kids. He loves ministering to high school kids and he is excellent at it. Yet, he has landed in Narnia and it is cold and dreary and there is a budget to meet and the White Witch is running near him. The enemy (foul one to quote Bill Shorey) is trying his best to plant fear into my friend's heart but there, it will find no place to dig in. My friend is sold out to the Lord.

But is it always safe to follow God? Does He promise us a "good" ilfe if we follow him? No. Yes to the eternal question but no, it isn't promised to us on this earth. Abraham was called out by God. "Follow Me Abraham, leave your family, leave your job, leave your town, leave all that you hold dear, all that you know and are comfortable with ... leave that and follow me. I'm not even going to tell you where I am sending you - just go and I will tell you when you get there." Sound safe?

David. Called out by God and he spent 20 years of his life ... running for it. Sound safe?

Is it safe to follow God? A ship in a harbor is safe but that isn't what ships are made for. (its a great quote) A man isn't made to be safe. God isn't safe. He calls us out.

I sit here on friday night at 2:30 in the morning and I cannot sleep. God is calling me out and I am scared. The enemy/foul one is trying to get in but I feel the Holy Spirit. Even at the darkest of what the enemy has hinted at, whispered to me - i feel the Holy One. I feel his hand on this I am about to do.

My journey is a journey of desire. Why would a man decide to climb Everest? Think about that. Why on earth would anyone set out to do this? Eldredge says "There are many fine reasons not to do it. Climbing Everest is an intrinsically irrational act - it is a triumph of desire over sensibility. A feat of only accomplished through desire."

That desire in me comes from God. He put those creative abilities in me for a reason. He wants me to use them. I am that ship in the harbor and He wants me to sail. He didn't build me to stay docked in the safe harbor. He built me for battle.

The same is true for my YL friend(s). They were built for battle - the battle over the souls of those teenagers. They didn't come out of the womb saying "I think I'll minister to youth some day" - but that desire was installed in them in the factory. Praise the Lord they are following His call - they are being called out into Narnia, called out of their homes, jobs and all they know that is comfortable....called out to follow Him.

Soar!