A couple weekends ago my husband and I attended a Christian camp up on the mountain with our young adult group from church and the theme name of our weekend was Momentum. Momentum can simply be defined as a driving force, or strength, of movement. In our case, we spent the weekend defining and meditating on the momentum in our own walks with Christ.Â
It was a very emotional weekend, especially when we split into small groups and discussed issues such as the weights on our shoulders which are affecting our relationships with God, what distractions we are encountering, and the things that are holding us back from creating an even deeper love with Him. The timing on these realizations were no coincidence. I know my previous post was about all of the social media distractions which were affecting me and I made the decision to finally let go of some of the past and unfollow and unlike those negative influences. I have already felt the difference. I also spend less and less time on those sites. By doing this I am not allowing myself to be sucked into the chaos and I choose to spend more time in the Now, pay more attention to what is happening in my real day to day life.Â
Another issue I dealt with is the weight I was feeling about being a stranger to all those who knew the âoldâ Sarah. All of a sudden I felt disregarded because I had this new life, a life that I have no shame shouting about from the top of the mountain, no shame in posting about Jesus and everything He has done for me and my family, and continues to do, I have no shame for letting people know hey, I am always in church and I LOVE it, I wouldnât change a thing, and all because I feel if only they knew the things God can do for them too. I have had people criticize me for no longer going out to the bars, no longer drinking, no longer doing things that the old me enjoyed doing (but were, in reality, negative), and for no longer believing alternative things as I once did. All these issues I shared with others in my group and I also got to hear the things my peers were going through as well, and it was eye opening to hear that I was not alone, there are many others who were experiencing the same distractions as I, who were feeling the same weights as I, and those who were really being held down by past and present experiences so deep that I could not compare them to my own sorrows and experiences.Â
That day I feel in love with those women, complete strangers. We cried together, we were honest and open about our struggles and the burdens on our hearts, we gave each other Godly advice and inspiration, we prayed together, and without a doubt we were able to strengthen one anotherâs FAITH. Faith that God IS going to fulfill His promise, He is going to rid us of our doubts and our fears, He will take away our hearts pains and sufferings; He does this when we cast our cares on Him, when we lay all of our burdens at His feet, and we know this because God tell us in Psalms 55:22 âCast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you;â. And again, Jesus says to us in Matthew 11:28-30 âCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.â And that is exactly what we did that night, not just our group, but all the other young adults in attendance.
Later that night, after everyone had their small groups we gathered in the chapel and received a message form Pastor Luke which was so moving and relateable, and completely inspired by the Holy Spirit. God was definitely there with us all, His presence in the atmosphere that night was undeniable, and not only because we know that âFor where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.â Matthew 18:20, but because you could see it in others, you could feel it in your heart during the songs of Praise and Worship, and you could hear it in the Word. The pastor delivered a message from the book of Daniel telling us the story of three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were the ONLY men in the province of Babylon who still believed, worshiped, and had faith in God. All the other people were ruled by, and worshiped, a man-named king, Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar demanded the people worship a gold statue at the ring of a bell and other instruments and the punishment for not following this order was to be burned to death in a fiery furnace. Well, eventually word came to him that those three men refused to do so, so Nebuchadnezzar commanded that the three be thrown into the fiery furnace, but when this was done God sent his angel to protect them. There the three men stood, walking around in that furnace alongside a fourth man whom, âlooks like the son of the Godsâ. Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace opened and the three man walked out unharmed. (WOW!) After this miraculous event a decreed was set upon the land that this was a God worth worshiping and the kingâs statue was destroyed.
This is one heck of story, and very relatable. In the world today I am definitely the minority as a true Christian, surrounded in the crowd by others who so willingly, or blindly, worship the worldly things of this world. I am called to be the one who stands out, and I cannot lie, itâs scary and little uncomfortable at times, but I so want to fulfill this calling with a happy heart, and I know I can through my Faith in God. I know, just as those three men did, that God is by my side and my life is in His hands, and who better to have control than God himself. Itâs really eye opening to see that in this story all it took was THREE men, out of thousands, to stand up for their belief, in Faith, to make a change and bring God into the lives of many. I want to be one of those men. Â
This message was so powerful to my heart, and to others, as young adults we are going through similar situations as we walk with God, all of us just trying to better ourselves, seeking redemption for our past, and looking to deepen our Faith. Itâs a beautiful thing when the Holy Spirit makes his presence known. Almost every knee was bowed down that night, tears flooded our eyes, and our hearts were singing and reaching out to the Lord. There we all were, myself especially, laying down all my lifeâs burdens at His feet with each tear drop and my heart singing out the words over and over again âOh how I love Youâ (I will post the song following my entry). That night I heard the Lord speak to me, these simple yet powerful words:
Everything I am going through, it is worth it to be that one man who gets to stand out from the crowd. I LOVE my ânewâ life, and I love my God. And as for those burdens I laid down that night, they have become light, and continue to grow lighter as the days pass by and as I grow in fellowship with all the other young adults who have come into my life, through God, to support the momentum in my Faith.