Standing on an elevated platform 400 feet in length with a
metal roof overhead I took in what I saw, what I heard and what was deep in my
mind and heart. I stood there for what
seemed like hours, but it was really a small bit of time.
I moved to the opposite side of the property. This time standing on a brick and mortar
platform I gazed across a couple parking areas and a large field. The sites and sounds seemed to be far out in
the country, yet those sounds gave way to a big truck gearing down on a near by
road or an ambulance with sirens blaring heading off to help someone in need.
In both places I remember the prayers and dreams of
others. I remember the pain of the
people who have crossed my path over the last few years. They all resonate in my heart.
In either location it became evident to me that what God had
in store for our church and the people I work with is bigger and stronger than
anything we’ve seen to this point. That
scares me. But that invigorates me to no
end. I am excited about the space God
has prepared ahead, but what I am really passionate about are the lives that
will never be the same because somebody shows that they care.
Nehemiah 2:12 NLT
I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had
put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took
no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding.
Nehemiah had something that God put in His heart. It was a passion for what moved God and for
what God is about in the world still today.
God’s passion is people. It is
not in money, in products or in empires built by men. Nehemiah saw the need for something to
happen.
Before the verse above happened there were blood, sweat and
tears of begging God to restore people who are living in poverty and in
pain. Have you ever been there? God’s people in Jerusalem who were at one
time mighty and successful, yet what stood in front of most of their homes was
the rubble of the walls. The walls
literally symbolized what was happening in the lives of God’s people.
I’ve seen the same in the people we deal with on a daily
basis. I’ve met some people who when you
look in their eyes there is passion to make a difference, to love people and to
be part of something bigger than what they can do alone. I look in the eyes of other people who are
hurting, hungry and homeless, and I see that with the love and care of God
lives will be changed. That is a big
change. That is a God sized change.
If you don’t love
something, you’re not going to go the extra mile, work the extra weekend,
challenge the status quo as much. --- Steve Jobs
That is an incredible statement. Throughout history there have been many
people who have made a difference in the lives of other people. There have also been people who have accumulated
great wealth and power, but I want to suggest that those who make the biggest
difference focus their influence on people and not on things.
I see and seize the things that God put in my heart
because my heart breaks when I see people going in a direction that is
destructive. My prayer is that God would
empower His people and give us the resources to rebuild the lives of broken
people.
That is my dream.
This is the vision that God birthed in my heart and in hearts of people
all over the world. We are no better
than anyone else, but we simply are willing to set our agendas aside for what
God will do in the lives of people who look toward Him. What an awesome thing to be part of something
bigger than me or even than us! I simply
want to be part of a group of people who want to do what God has called us to
do. I want to share the dream and to
help others dream. This is a strange
group of people.
Here’s to the crazy ones —
the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules. You can quote
them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t
do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward,
and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones
who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who
do. --- Steve Jobs
Did you catch that last part about dreaming and following
your dreams? “The ones who are crazy
enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.” That is the group that I want to be part
of. Dare to dream. Dare to step out of the status quo. Dare to be a rebel with a cause.
Take what God put in your heart and do something with
it. Make a difference in the world
around you. Join the people around you
with similar passion and seek to make a difference. And the world will never be the same as we
dare to dream.
Proverbs 29:18 GWT
Without
prophetic vision people run
wild, but blessed are those who follow God’s teachings.
Comments