“Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Try this. I want to ask you to stand up, and have your arms spread wide. And keep it there.. are you feeling tired yet?
Hold it. A little bit longer.
Okay how long has it been? 1 min? Okay, 5 more mins.
Okay you can put your arms down now.
That my brothers and sisters, is a fraction of how I was feeling throughout my whole trip. Obviously, the longer we kept our arms up, the more tired we felt. The moment we were asked to keep it up longer, the more we complained. And that was me on this trip. The moment I felt tired, gross, sticky, hot, exhausted, is the very moment the Lord asked more from me. And all I kept saying was, “Lord, there’s nothing left. What more do you want?”
Until one worship where I was compelled to open my eyes and realized that I was literally in front of the crucifix, as it stood in front me during one worship. And all I can do at that moment was cry. Not out of sadness, but out of just overwhelming love He has for me.
I dare you my brothers and sisters to say “I’m tired” in front of the crucified Christ. I dare you to say “I can’t do this anymore” as His arms are stretched wide on the cross. You simply just can’t. As I look at Him, He just stares back at me, and he looks at me with the eyes of love.
This international conference for me was a reminder of my posture in service. It was a reminder of my willingness to sacrifice for the mission. This trip revealed to me that our Lord does not call us to mission when we are most capable and most available, but rather when we are at our weakest and most desperate for Him.
So I challenge each and every one of you, the moment you are starting to feel tired of service, the moment you are starting to feel burnt out, the moment you just feel like giving up, I dare you to look at the cross. And make your eyes meet with the one who loved us first. Because how beautiful is it, when the eyes of the lover, meets the eyes of the beloved.
The Lord’s love and faithfulness is my solid ground.
“We hold on to the cross as a reminder that God loved us first; that God loves me. Never let go of this love because this our solid ground.”
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many reminders of Your love in the mission. I will fight for Your life, I will long for Your peace. Amen.
JMJ,
Diane Dimacali