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Grace in time of need - Strength where it otherwise would not exist - Words where words otherwise would not be spoken

 

These unexplainable phenomena are completely explainable when we know the infinite sovereign nature and the tender love and care of the God we serve. The Holy Spirit is always working, always moving, always giving us what we need, but most of the time we get stuck in the routine of everyday life and completely lose sight of that. We loosen our grip on the things above, because they truly are foreign to our material minds in this material world where the material is all that is in front of us and all that is shoved into our brains by society. God has a funny way of snapping us back into reality, and that often comes when we least expect it. But when we are faithful to seek and serve Him day in and day out, even through the uncomfortable and painful situations, the ways He demonstrates His power and His sovereignty are ever so apparent and truly supernaturally beautiful because it doesn’t make sense from any earthly standpoint. It is the most calming assurance imaginable, and it provides such peace and rest in the midst even of the most difficult of circumstances. The older I get, and the further I am sanctified, the more I experience times like these; however, they are still seemingly quite rare. That is not to say that I do not experience the peace of God which surpasses understanding on a regular basis; but the clear, supernatural movement of the Holy Spirit, and empowerment by the Holy Spirit that occurs when you are in a situation seemingly impossible and you surrender fully to Him when your mind tells you to do the opposite, is something especially amazing. This is something I have experienced abundantly in recent months.

 

In the weeks leading up to camp, Satan and his legions seem to work overtime to drag us down. Spiritual attack seems inevitable during this time, and that is something I experienced last year before camp. This year was no different, and everyone else on the team would say the same about themselves. That is both discouraging and encouraging. It is discouraging, of course, because it is difficult! Satan isn’t some chump: he is an expert at his craft and knows the temptations we face and capitalizes on them, doing everything in his power to cause us to stumble. It is encouraging, though, because it is another evidence of the assurance we have of our salvation. Satan would not be working so hard against us if we were not working on the right side. James 1:12-15, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Our own broken humanity is what tempts us to sin, but Satan uses what is already there and amplifies it to the extreme a lot of the time. We see the most prime of examples in the wilderness when Jesus was tempted by Satan. Jesus was 100% human, so His life was marked by temptation just the same as any human who has ever and will ever live: the only difference is that Jesus resisted temptation perfectly His whole life and never sinned. He also experienced temptation to a much greater degree than we will ever experience, because 9 times out of 10 we succumb to the temptation before it even gets very extreme. Jesus, on the other hand, did not even succumb to temptation one time in His whole life: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need,” Hebrews 4:14-16.

 

My whole point in bringing these things up is summarized in that passage. Christ is the reason we are here. Christ is the reason we live, the reason we work, the reason we spread the good news, the reason we live difficult and uncomfortable lives: to make His name known and seek and serve Him with everything that we have. Our Lord, Christ Jesus, is a near and sympathetic high priest, because He has walked the road before us, lived it perfectly, died taking the wrath of God for the punishment for our sins, and was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures that we may have newness of life in Him and a restored relationship with God the Father. Christ is the high priest, and He is interceding for us at all times. When we surrender fully to Him, He gives us the strength to get through anything and everything, and that is something we need to be doing on a daily basis. That is a difficult task on its own, but truly surrendering to Christ during the times that are especially difficult or seemingly impossible can lead to the beautiful assurance and indescribable peace and rest that I described above, and that is a rare occurrence, at least for me, but I have definitely been experiencing it more frequently the older I get.

 

The reason I bring all of this up is that this summer, in the midst of all the camps, the Lord has given me so much more than I could have asked for, and I could have made it through exactly zero days without the Holy Spirit supernaturally working through every situation and every interaction and giving me the strength I otherwise wouldn’t have had. Spiritual attack is very real, and it seems that conflict is inevitable in this season. The Lord has graciously allowed me to see and learn a lot more in recent months of what it looks like to truly surrender my thoughts, desires, struggles, and everything else to Him. So, in a season of nonstop work in preparation for camp, and in the camps themselves, it introduces much difficulty both physically and spiritually. Satan knows who we are working for and throws everything he has at us to distract us from our goal of making the name of Christ known through our words and our actions. Combining that with fatigue and sickness and everything else that comes with an intensely packed season of ministry, it becomes extremely difficult at times to be able to keep up with everything. During our Elementary and Junior camps, good sleep can be hard to come by, so energy is something that is unachievable for me. The beauty in that was that I was able to continually fully surrender that to the Lord and He miraculously provided me with the strength to not just make it through each day, but to do far beyond what I could have done even if I was perfectly rested and having the best day of energy of my life. He gave me the words to say in interactions where I would have had no idea how to respond. He gave me strength to remain unified with everyone even when I was particularly tired or fatigued and easily annoyable. Every circumstance and interaction I had during camp, I felt the Holy Spirit working and it was absolutely wonderful. To be able to acknowledge my insufficiency and my weakness to the Lord and truly leave that at His feet gave me some of the most evident and tangible peace, rest, and trust in His will and His love that I have ever experienced in my life. And to watch Him take that and give me far beyond what I was lacking was just wonderful. All of the camps this summer have been a blast, but Elementary and Junior camp were indescribably amazing: I truly couldn’t do them justice with words.

 

This summer was difficult, and my time here at Upon the Rock so far, has been very difficult, but it has been the most beautiful time of sanctification and growing in unity and Christlikeness with the wonderful team of brothers and sisters I have here and love so much. For that reason, it has been so very rewarding, and one of the most treasured experiences of my life: “Blessed be YAHWEH, because He has heard the voice of my supplications. YAHWEH is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him,” Psalm 28:6-7. The end of August has marked one full year since I arrived here in La Veta, and it really has been the best year of my life. In everything from writing update letters, to speaking the truth of the Gospel to young kids that do not know Christ, the Lord’s work has been so supremely evident, and so unfathomably beautiful. I can truly say that I trust the Lord and love Him more now than I have ever before, and that is purely the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Looking back on who I was in August 2023, I am a different person entirely and it is nothing out of my own efforts, but Christ displaying His love in my life.

 

Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”