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One word from God can change everything.

My friend spoke those words during a Skype call about our Czech mission trip.

We were busy hammering away at the trip itinerary, trying to plan out what we hope and pray will be a very powerful and fruitful two weeks. We had workshops to talk about, youth group sessions, the order of our messages, how to work in a meeting time with our Ignite Czech group, money, food, and countless other specifics that go into a two week trip to Czech.

There’s a lot to do when coordinating a two week trip to Czech.

In the midst of all the to-do’s, in the midst of us sharing our hopes and wishes and dreams for the trip, he spoke those words.

One word.

Czech is very hard ground.

The church we work with has been praying for solid influence into the neighborhood across from their building. They have done outreaches, prayed for people, invited them to special services, served them in numerous ways, even had some crazy American teams over to help impact that neighborhood. So far, they haven’t had the fully open door they’ve been praying for.

One word.

We will spend thousands of dollars, travel thousands of miles, spend countless hours reaching out, engaging in conversations, praying for people, sharing the gospel – and we may only see one person give their life to Christ.

One word.

One word is all it takes to change your circumstances.

The debt you can’t seem to pay off. One word.
The relationships that fell apart. One word.
The business that went under. One word.
The sickness that just won’t go away. One word.
The countless rejection letters from job applications. One word.

You can spend your whole life planning and strategizing and trying to get something to work out in your own power…and see nothing change.

Until God speaks just one word.

One word can open doors that have been bolted shut.
One word can bring healing to a broken heart.
One word can speak life into your finances.
One word can bring that job you so desperately need.
One word can give you immense influence into a neighborhood that needs Jesus.

One word from God can change everything.

Where do you need God to speak One Word into your life?

Czech youth and young adults praying over me in July 2012

Faithful.

It’s a word that’s been creeping in my prayer time quite a bit the past few weeks.

God has spoken it during a time of guided prayer.
He dropped it in my mind while reading the Bible.
He’s spoken it to me through others.
Even my circumstances have brought that word to the forefront of my mind.

Faithful.

In just over a month, I’ll be leaving for my ninth trip to Czech.
It still doesn’t seem real that I’ve been there that many times.

During the past eight trips, I have helped with a leadership conference to plant six new churches in the Silesian and Moravian regions of Czech. I have trained youth pastors. I have led mission trips. I have planned outreaches, prayed for young people, spoken more times than I can remember, overcame my fear of flying, led people to Christ, reminded young people that they are called and have a purpose, built some of my closest friendships, encountered God in fresh and new ways, and returned time and time again to somehow see God transform the people in that country.

It’s been a hefty investment of time, energy, and money.
One that I have been more than willing and honored to make.

While these trips seem to take on the same structure and focus, this year God has opened a new door of ministry.

My team and I will be serving at a nation-wide youth convention called Kristfest.

We will lead sessions, assist with praying for youth, help with fun activities, build relationships…with over 200 young people from all over the country.

And just last week I found out I will be the opening speaker.

9 trips. 360 hours of travel. $22,000 in fees. Countless hours preparing messages and praying for young people. A dedication to return time and time again to serve a small group of churches in a country that many Americans couldn’t pin-point on a map if their lives depended on it.

And in it all, God keeps speaking one word to me.

Faithful.

Our culture trains us to desire the immediate promotion. The overnight success. The deal that takes us from pauper to prince in a matter of hours. The seat of honor everywhere we go.

But God doesn’t work that way.

He rewards us and increases our influence only after we’ve proven ourselves to be one thing.

Faithful.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” – Matthew 25:21

How has God rewarded your faithfulness?

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Lies.

They are the enemy’s greatest tactic to get us off course with God.

He tells us we’re not good enough.
He convinces us we’re too messed up.
He tells us we’ve let God down.
He whispers to us that we’ll always be alone.
He convinces us we’ll never amount to anything.
He tells us we aren’t loved, wanted, or accepted.
He makes us doubt the promises of God.
He convinces us God wants to bless everyone but us.
He tells us God is angry with our mistakes.
He shouts that the only way to numb the pain is with the bottle. Or pills. Or the dirty movie.

The devil does nothing but lie.
And we tend to believe him.

It’s easy to believe the devil’s lies.

They just seem so real.

His lies play off our emotions of the current circumstances.
They are based off the truths of what we’ve done in the past.
They work from the fears we have of the future.
They come across as our “voice” inside our own head.

And the enemy loves to shout – to make his lies so loud we can’t hear God in the chaos.

After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. – 1 Kings 19:12

God doesn’t often speak in bullhorns or booming voices from Heaven.

He speaks in a whisper.
A still, small voice.

One so still, it can be missed behind the enemy’s shouts.

But He’s always there. Always speaking. Always reminding us of the truth of who we are and who He made us to be.

We just need to ignore the shouts of the enemy, focus on God’s constant, ever-present voice, and allow His truth to cancel out every lie the enemy tries to make us believe.

What lies of the enemy have you believed this week?

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Last week, the area where I live endured a lot of storms.

Basements were flooded.
Streets were covered in water.
Businesses had to close due to flood damage.
My neighborhood lost electricity for a few hours.
I drove home from work two nights last week and could barely see 10 feet in front of my car due to rain.
My former place of employment made national news.
(In this video, you can see parts of my old desk floating away.)

It was a mess.

But it made me realize an important lesson:

Storms happen.

You can’t get around it. You can’t hide from it. You can’t escape it.

Storms are going to happen.

There may be times you drive home in a torrential downpour.
You may have to endure an inch of ice on your driveway.
You may have to batten down the hatches as a tornado blows through.
Or a hurricane.
Or tsunami.

Storms happen.

They happen in nature and they happen in life.

There is no getting around that truth.

Storms of life hit our finances, our relationships, and our security.
They mess with our confidence, try to sake our faith, and test our level of endurance.
They challenge our marriages, mess with our kids, and make us want to throw in the towel.
They cause us to lose our jobs, our homes, our vehicles.
They make us feel like nothing will ever change.

Storms happen.

Jesus himself promised we would encounter some storms.

But He also promised the storms wouldn’t crush us.
They wouldn’t stop us.
They wouldn’t be able to hinder the life He gave us.

As long as we kept our eyes on Him.

Storms happen.

But how we respond to the storms determines the type of men and women we’ll become.

Job worshipped.
David wrote psalms.
Jacob wrestled.
Moses took off his shoes.
Paul sang.
Solomon fell face down.
John wrote down his revelation.
Joseph led.
Esther protected.

They all faced storms.
And they all advanced God’s kingdom because of it.

What storm are you facing right now? How are you allowing your response to shape you?

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Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
Ephesians 3:20

Ephesians 3:20 has always been a source of encouragement to me.

Here Paul is writing to the believers in Ephesus, telling them of the prayer he prays regularly for them. At the end of the prayer, before he closes out, he writes what is more of a side note than his actual point.

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

This verse pumps me up, fuels my faith, and is one way I encourage and challenge the students and leaders in Ignite to dream bigger.

If you can ask it, if you can imagine it, you’re already thinking too small.
God can do more.

It’s how I’ve interpreted this verse.
It’s how God challenges and encourages me with this verse.
It’s how I’ve preached and taught on this verse.

God can do more.

While I still believe that interpretation to be true, the past few days God has shone a new light on this passage.

God can do more than than all we ask or imagine, but…
We have to ASK.
We have to IMAGINE.
We have to dream and think and pray.

It all comes down to us asking.

We can’t expect God to do more if we don’t ask.
We can’t wait for Him to exceed our imaginations if we don’t lay out our requests.

God knows what we’re thinking. He knows what we want. He knows the desires deep down in our hearts. But He will wait until we take a step of faith and ask Him for something more.

Something bigger.

We serve a God who can do immeasurably more than the very thing you’re hoping deep down He would do in your life.

You simply have to ask.
And trust that He will do much more than you asked or hoped for.

What do you need to ask of God?

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There has been one prayer I’ve consistently prayed over the past 12 years:

Lord, I want nothing less than all of you.

That is my heart’s desire.

I don’t want to stop short.
I don’t want to give in.
I don’t want to be happy apart from Him.

I don’t want to settle for anything less than all of God and all He has for me.

It’s a very dangerous prayer.

Everyone in scripture who dared to pray a similar prayer, everyone brave enough to fully pursue the call God placed on their lives, paid a price.

Abraham was declared righteous, and asked to sacrifice his son.
Moses sought God’s face, and spent 40 years wandering around the desert.
David was a man after God’s own heart, and had a troubled family life.
Esther rose to her calling, and was almost killed for it.
Paul wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and was murdered because of it.

Seeking all God has for you, fully going after His heart and character, will cost you.

It will cost you your comfortable life.
It will put you on the opposing side of society.
It will push you and stretch you and cause you to make sacrifices you may not want to make.

But it will be worth it.

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend…
Exodus 33:11

God reserves His best for those who seek Him.
He rewards those who give up everything for Him.
He offers those who won’t settle for second best a glimpse of His full character and face.

God draws close to those who draw close to Him.

If you truly want all of God, if you really want everything He has for you, there is a price to pay.

But that price pales in comparison to the reward of knowing Him.

What do you need to lay down in order to experience all of God and all He has for you?

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Last week I took a Feed Me Week.

I take one at the end of each school year.

A Feed Me Week is to a sabbatical rest – I intentionally steer clear of my ministry obligations, I make sure not to plan any speaking engagements, I try not to work past my normal hours, I take a break from my blog (hence why you didn’t see any posts last week), and I put mentoring on hold.

It’s a great way to end a busy school year.

But Feed Me Weeks are much more than taking down time. They are more than just laying on the couch watching TV, going for bike rides, and hanging out with friends.

Feed Me Weeks are just that – weeks where I intentionally feed my spirit and my soul.

I spend time reading.
Do some studying.
Try something new or start something I haven’t done in a while.
I go to a conference or class or seminar.
Spend concentrated time in the Word.
Find myself worshipping more.
Do something fun. Or adventurous. Or downright crazy.

It’s all about doing the things that bring me the most life.

The school year can be pretty draining, what with pouring into students, reaching out on campus, mentoring young people, dealing with drama and heart ache and struggles, speaking, teaching, planning retreats, and coaching college students.

By the end, I need an extra boost.

That’s what Feed Me Weeks are all about.
Revitalizing my spirit and soul after months of pouring out.

How do you plan on feeding your spirit and soul this week?

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I’m just waiting on God to open that door.

As Christians, we use that phrase way too much.

It’s become almost cliche.

Whenever we don’t know what to do, whenever it seems that the obstacle is too difficult, whenever there’s someplace we want to be but don’t know how to get there, we end up waiting on God to open that door.

Waiting on God to open a door is equivalent to us doing nothing.

Yes, we need to wait on God’s timing. Yes, there are certain doors only He can open. Yes, we need to wait on Him to open those doors.

That doesn’t mean we sit around and wait for our dream to fall out of the sky on a silver platter.

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
- Colin Powell

There’s something we can do when waiting on God to open a door.

We work. Hard.

We do everything we can to prepare and position ourselves to step through any opportunity we’re granted.

Want to write a book? Start by writing a page. Every day.
Want to be in ministry? Apply to seminary. Intern at a church. Go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Want to start your own business? Take a class on entrepreneurship.
Want to be a missionary? Pay off your debt.
Want to be a better parent? Spend more time with your kids.

Want God to open a door of opportunity for you? Prove yourself ready to receive that opportunity.

God doesn’t give opportunities to people who sit on their butts and do nothing.

He rewards those who, through diligent work and faithfulness in the small things, have prepared themselves to receive the opportunities He has given.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” – Matthew 25:21

How are you preparing yourself for God to open the next door of opportunity?

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We all have dreams we’ve stopped pursuing.

As we get older, as we take on more responsibilities, our dreams can seem foolish. Or irresponsible. Or downright impossible.

There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, homes to purchase, vehicles to repair, taxes to pay, retirement to plan, vacations to fund, clothes to buy, iPhones to update, yards to maintain, home repairs to make, student loans to pay off, credit cards to pay off, car loans to pay off. Did I mention anything about bills to pay?

It’s no wonder our dreams fall to the bottom of our priorities. Our lives are inundated with much more important responsibilities.

And so our dreams begin to fade.
Fall to the bottom of our priority list.
Are choked out by the realities of life.

And begin to disappear all together.

Your dreams never disappear as you get older. You just replace them with standards of living you prefer.

Our dreams never really die. They never really fade into oblivion, disappearing from our hearts altogether.

We just choose a level of comfortability over the uncertainty of our dreams.

We want the bigger paycheck, bigger house, fancier car. We desire the latest cellphone, tablet, and gaming system. We want to remodel the house, put our kids in brand name clothes, and get them involved in every activity under the sun.

And pursuing our dream may mean giving all that up.

So we go after our preferred standard of living, strive for the better paycheck, and choke our our dreams with other desires.

But those dreams never really die.

All it takes to resurrect our dreams is a decision – to put aside a specific standard of living and wildly pursue the dream God placed in our hearts.

What standard of living is stopping you from pursuing your dream?

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“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

It’s difficult for us to see the impact we have on people’s lives.

Sure, there are those we can easily point to and see the impact we’ve made.

The friend who came to Christ after your conversation.
The coworker who is now going to church because you invited him.
The young person who is beginning to like how God created them because of your mentoring.

Those are easy to see. We can point to the fruit in their lives and know the difference we’ve made.

But what about the people we pour into once or twice and don’t see again?
What about the friends who don’t change right away?

That impact is much more difficult to see.
But it doesn’t mean an impact wasn’t made.

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