Click click click {The next tipping point}

I know this feeling: About to tip … somewhere. Not sure where.

It was 4.5 years ago when God brought a sort of revival to our hearts and lives. Now we can see it for what it was, Him leading us into a new place of trusting Him, knowing Him, loving Him.

But at the time it just felt tumultuous. Confusing. Scary. Some people didn’t agree with our conclusions. It felt like a strange combination of being “obedient” and “naughty” all at once. We felt like we were being obedient to God, but also felt some disapproval from a few we truly loved and respected, so then … maybe we weren’t being obedient? Maybe we were just rogue crazy-folks who took God’s Word too literally. Now looking back I can see were were following God’s leading, but at the time it was so confusing!  

I’ve rambled about it at length in the Filling In My Blank series, but the short of it was that in Fall of 2010, God began opening our eyes to a whole world we hadn’t really seen before. Through the book of James, Matthew 25, Isaiah 58,1 John, The Hole In Our Gospel, Medical Teams International Real Life exhibit, Food Inc. and many other interactions, conversations, scriptures, and time in prayer, God began revealing His heart for the poor, challenging us to change the trajectory of our lives.

He changed our dreams. Instead of a dream home or dream life, a dream of accumulating and achieving, He gave us a dream of giving away, pouring out, laying down.

The tipping point was in October 2010. This was when we were fully convinced of God’s heart in this matter and fully convinced of this new conviction and direction.

This included some specific steps of obedience. Selling our house, living on less, moving toward giving away half our income, trusting Him for practical provision, moving to another city in a different demographic, planting a church, opening up our home to live in community … it wasn’t just a new feeling or a new way of seeing things.

This tipping point brought a whole new life.

Just this morning I told Jeff with a bit of trepidation: I feel that tipping point again.

I know this feeling. Like the click click click of a roller coaster as it slowly chugs steeply toward the very top. You lean back and all you see is sky ahead because you know it drops off sharply just ahead and you’re about to take the ride of your life but you have no idea what it looks like.

Yeah that. That feeling.

The cool thing, though, is that this time around, I’m confident that God completes the work He begins. Of course I knew that in my head before, but now I know it by experience. God did complete His work He began in Oct. 2010. That doesn’t mean we “arrived” and the work isn’t finished (it won’t be complete until Jesus returns) but just this month He brought that new “dream” to fruition, and almost immediately, to my surprise, something new began jumping off the page in His Word. I had to smile as I read His Word and said to myself,  just as I said 4.5 years ago about justice/poor/giving issues:

“Has that always been there? Why have I never seen this?!!!”

Now, I can look back and remember His good work and stand confident that God will complete this work as well. It feels tumultuous, confusing. Scary. Some people, I’m sure, wouldn’t agree with our conclusions. It feels like I’m being both “obedient” and “naughty.” I want to follow God into this new territory and obey Him, but it feels like being a rogue crazy-girl who takes God’s Word too literally.

*sigh* See what I mean?

But, we’ve been here before!

Now, I know that He is faithful to complete the good work He begins in us (Phil 1:6). This not only applies large-scale, to our entire life-work of sanctification, but also the “little works” He does in us, the revivals, the new revelations, the new territory of surrender. I don’t have to have it all figured out right now, I just need to trust Him each baby-step of the way. He will be faithful to complete His work.

I don’t mean to be cryptic or vague. I’ll share more specifics about this journey later. For now I want to be vague, because it doesn’t matter as much what our new journey is as it does that we’re all on some sort of faith-venture journey.

We’re all approaching a new tipping point, if we’ll let God have His way and take us there.

Trust Him. When you hear the click click click and you’re approaching the top of this roller coaster ride, get yourself firmly positioned in the safety-belt of God’s Holy Scriptures (that’ll keep you from falling off the side!), and hang on tight!

It’s time to ride.

{Oh friends I pray we let God do this uncomfortable work in our hearts! Wherever He is taking you, go there! Trust Him for this wild ride, firmly rooted in His Word. Thanks so much for reading.}

I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)