Fear and Faith

The following is an excerpt from the book Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis. The book is about a girl who leaves her home and family in Tennessee to follow the Lord's call to Uganda. I've only read a little less than half of the story so far, but I definitely recommend it. This section stuck out to me as I was reading through another chapter of it today:

"How often, as human beings, we are crippled by our fears. We are afraid of change, of loss, of being hurt. We cling so tightly to what we have because we are afraid of what would happen if we didn't have these things anymore. . . I had recently been back to the States and seen and realized this fear. A very real fear that if we gave everything away, we wouldn't have enough for ourselves. Back in my new home I saw the consequences: children starving to death, sleeping under rags and in chicken feces, withering away from disease. In our fear, even many of us who claimed to believe in Christ were failing to do what He said for the least of His people.

"Fear. It's part of human nature, but it's not something we got from God. Second Timothy 1:7 says: 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.' When I imagine God creating each one of us and planting a purpose deep in our hearts, I never imagine that purpose being mediocrity. While the Bible doesn't tell every person on earth specifically what his or her life's calling will be, it does include a lot of general direction. . . mediocrity and abundance aren't there. However, mediocrity and abundance, comfort, and ease, do seem to be safe choices for many people, myself included. In stark contrast, leaving our possessions, following Jesus when we don't have a well-defined plan, and entertaining strangers-well, that does sound a little scary. But what if, just beyond that risk, just beyond the fear is a life better than anything we have ever imagined: life to the fullest."

 There are lots of things in our lives and our futures that could easily scare us if we aren't careful. Fear of the unknown is a big one for many of us. Fear of failure, fear of change, fear of missing God's will, and other individual fears can creep into our minds and influence our views and decisions about life in a negative way. It's much easier to read "do not be afraid, nor be dismayed" from Joshua 1:9 than to obey it. The end of the verse, however, is the key phrase that shows us how it is possible for us to overcome all of our fears. "For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." When we give in to fear, it is because of our human limitations and frailties. What we lack in the midst of our fear is sufficient faith. God will never leave nor forsake His children. This promise doesn't guarantee us immunity from pain, failure, change, or battles, but it does remind us that whatever happens we have our Shepherd right beside us. He will pick us up, heal us, lead us, fight for us, and ultimately bring us into His presence for eternity.

Just think, what would you do right now if all of your fears were suddenly gone? What is fear holding you back from accomplishing or pursuing? It is so crippling to live in fear. It holds us in the middle of mediocrity, where we are most comfortable but perhaps least effective. I believe God gave us life, both physically and spiritually, for His glory. We can glorify Him by obeying Him. John 14:15 says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." If we love Him, we will obey Him. If we obey Him, we will glorify Him. Here are a few of the ways that the Bible gives us to show obedience:

1. Go and sell your possessions and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21).

2.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19).

3. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). 

4. Treat 'the least of these' as you would treat Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:40). 

5. Visit orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27). 

There are plenty more commands in there, but I just picked out a few that seem to especially apply to those individuals God calls to places like Uganda or Botswana. I may not write a book like Katie Davis did, but I hope to be glorifying to God by obeying His commands and His call and stepping out in faith despite any fears that try to hold me back.

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

Botswana Bound

Over a year ago, I began the process of applying for a pilot position with Flying Mission Services (FMS) in Botswana, Africa. I knew about the organization through a friend and former Liberty flight instructor who had left to go fly for them a year or two before. Scrolling through Facebook posts one day, I noticed that FMS was in need of pilots for their single-engine aircraft program, and I already met the minimum requirements. That intrigued me. Most missions groups wanted pilots with at least 50 hours of time in high performance aircraft, but I didn't have that or have any way to get it. Here was a group that would take me with what experience I had and work with it. I liked that. So, I emailed in my resume and began to dialogue via the internet with their human resources department. In the midst of this, I was given the opportunity to go through Liberty University's Aviation Maintenance Technician School and decided to pursue my aircraft mechanic certificates through Liberty's one-year intensive program before leaving to go anywhere.

Since last August, I have been studying airplane systems and components like it was my job - the only difference is that I'm having to pay money for this job instead of getting paid for it. I'm more than halfway through the program and can honestly say that I am very glad that God led me to stay in Lynchburg for awhile longer and go through all of this extra schooling. I was initially dreading having to be in class eight hours a day, five days a week for an entire year, but the Lord has shown Himself strong on my behalf and turned my poor attitude around. Not only have I had the great blessing to learn a ton of material about aviation, but I have met and become friends with a lot of great people that God has used in my life already. It has been a great experience so far. By the middle of August, it will be over. I will have both my Airframe and Powerplant ratings on my Mechanic certificate and will be able to legally work on aircraft and their engines if the opportunity presents itself.

So now, with the end of school in sight, I have recently been back in contact with Flying Mission Services and within the past two weeks have done a phone interview, sent in my application form, and been offered a pilot position with them. My official start date is September 5th of this year! There are lots of question to ask, details to confirm, things to arrange, and so on, but I am very excited to be finally setting out from the school environment (even though learning continues through our lives) and heading into the "real world" where I can apply the things I've been learning for so many years. I know that it's going to be a great journey because I have seen God's hand working and moving to bring me here. If He is in it, then it will go beyond all that I could ever dream or imagine. The journey continues!

FMS Website

What's in a Name?

When thinking about what to name this blog, I wanted to come up with something catchy and creative. Rhyming words might do the trick. Or perhaps alliteration would provide more possibilities. Then, of course, there was also the matter of the name actually making sense and having some sort of reasoning behind it. That further complicated the issue. After much deep thought (3 or 4 minutes, I guess) I decided to call it The Journey Journals. It is somewhat catchy and perhaps even a little creative, but most important of all, it has meaning to it. Let me explain.

I believe that life is a journey. It begins at conception and continues on until our physical bodies give out and we die. On our tombstone it may be only represented by a little dash in between the years of our birth and death, but that little dash can contain a lot of time, trials, tries, and triumphs. Looking up quotes about journeying, I fond one accredited to George Whitefield.

"Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you."

I don't think that means we should rush through life and never stop to smell the flowers, as they say. In regards to the Christian life, however, it can be a warning to us to never stop pressing "on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" as Philippians 3:14 says. In other words, never be content with where you are spiritually. Always be striving to become more Christ-like. Neither coasting nor being lukewarm in your faith are acceptable options if our hearts are truly the Lord's. The journey is hard - nobody denies that. We often struggle and feel alone, yet Psalm 46:1 reminds us that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Hence, while the journey is no walk in the park, we are led "beside still waters" by our Good Shepherd.

While we're on this journey, it can be of great benefit to continually track our current location. Not only does this keep us on the narrow path we are called to follow, but it also gives us a way to learn from past mistakes, rejoice over progress made, and keep a history of God's faithfulness in our lives. Journaling can be a personal means of communing with the Spirit, it can serve as a way of remembering where we've come from, and it can also be a way of sharing our life journey and testimony with other people. That's predominately what this blog has been created to do. As I progress down the pathway of life on this journey of faith, I will post updates on here of happenings along the way. More to come soon...