The Cost of Following Jesus
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (NIV)
For those who have not been following my blog or who do not know me, for some time now, I have felt like God was calling me to help out with what He is doing in Romania. Over the past couple of years, that has generally involved helping out with camps and trips from our local church, but this past Summer, I did have the opportunity to spend 2 1/2 months in Timisoara, and definitely know that I will be back on a longer term where I can assist their local church and college ministry. However, upon my departure this past October, I had in my mind that I would be going back in 2 years (or around September 2011). Part of this was because this was when the ministry in Romania would be planting another church in Timisoara geared specifically towards the college students in the city. Another reason was that I felt like that would be how long it would take for me to return home, save up some money, raise support and make it back over there.
Well, then several things began to happen. First, I still have not found a job since returning to the states, so my plan to save some money has not worked out; second, the ministry has decided to move their church plant up to this coming October (a year early); and third, my devotions recently brought me back to the passage above. I know that when reading it through before, I would always look at this as someone and their decision to make Jesus their personal Lord and Savior; however, this time I realized that it relates more to abandoning it all and trusting God to provide for all your needs as you follow the direction in which He leads. So, I began to think more on this and pray about MY plans for returning to Romania, and I saw this as very similar to what was being addressed in this passage – I wanted to go and serve, but I wanted to take care of things first.
In light of this revelation as to what I had been doing, I have decided to take the next step in the process to getting back to Romania and following what I feel God has placed on my heart. It will definitely be a big step of faith and WAY outside my comfort zone, but I trust what God has said: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jeremiah 29:11. So, it is with this in mind that I speed up the process of getting rid of things here in the States that I do not need and push harder towards making my way back to Timisoara for this coming Fall. I know it may be rough and challenging, but I ask that you pray I will be flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and that I would trust Him to continue to meet my needs as I follow Him.
