“Normality is a paved road; it’s comfortable to walk but no flowers grow.”
Vincent Van Gogh
This week I am writing about how God has the power to change lives and people for His glory and for our good.
Live Different
A few weeks ago my friend Zach preached an incredible message about the transforming power God through the story of a man named Paul. This message convicted my heart to the core and made me really evaluate my life as a Christ-follower.
Paul was a man who sought to kill Christians, then encountered Jesus in one life-changing moment on a road and became one of the greatest Christian missionaries of all time.
So, what happened?
Jesus. Jesus met Paul right where he was and completely changed his life. Paul transformed from a man who would watch Christians be stoned to death to a man who built up the church and lived every moment of his life for the glory of God. Paul’s heart changed from hate to love in such a radical way that only God himself could make possible.
Zach described the experience we have when we encounter Jesus to be like getting hit by a truck. If you walk into the street and get hit by a truck, you can’t just walk away from that experience unchanged. Your life will be different! You will look different, what you value changes, and your relationships with people change.
Does your life look different from those who do not believe?
Honestly, my life is a continuous work-in-progress to live differently than the world. Every day I have to decide to surrender to God’s grace and the direction He is sending me. I realize the little I know and the great need I have for God’s presence in my life daily.
It’s so easy to get caught up in society’s expectations of success that I can forget what God says is truly satisfying to the heart. I struggle with seeking acceptance from my peers above seeking God sometimes. I’m not perfect and that’s okay. However, I choose to live differently despite my insecurities because I want to live a life that reflects the decision I made to love God with all of my heart, soul, and mind.
What is that moment on the road for you? When God changed your heart and called you to live differently. Is it one moment, or a series of moments you noticed your life was forever changed?
Petit à Petit,
Lauren
The Honest Pursuit 
Well, that moment on the road for me was…
When I was 18 years old (summer graduation) spending the weekend with friends in San Angelo at the lake:
About 11:00 p.m. that Saturday night I was driving (too fast) with a good friend on a two-lane country road in the middle of a rain storm. All in the sudden, there was a sharp curve to the right and when I took it my tires began to hydro-plane and I went into a skid. I over corrected and began to do a counter-clockwise 360 going in a clockwise direction. During this time, my perception of time stood absolutely still. I was not in control of the vehicle at all but I also felt that I was not controlling the vehicle at all.
My vehicle came to a sliding stop on the shoulder of the road on the other side of a “T” intersection with the main Highway. About a half-second after that an 18 wheeled zoomed by me and shook the vehicle.
My realization of the event as I sat motionless from the previous moments:
1. Only God Himself can stretch out His hand in the middle of a blinding rain storm and keep a vehicle on a narrow, wet road spinning left when the road goes right. The physics just do not work out.
2. God owns Time and He sustains Life – to the everlasting. One second earlier I would have been hit by an 18 wheeler going highway speed and would have literally been blown apart all over the highway. It was not my appointed time to meet God who is my Maker and my Creator.
3. For the Christian, the Lord does not promise a life without spins, turns, twists and the unexpected. But in all of Life he does promise Christians there will never be a height, depth, distance, place or circumstance where his Love can be separated from us. He promises to see us get to the other side… to Heaven.
Christianity includes the pursuit of knowing the perfect cares for the imperfect; loving Christ because He first loved us and living such a life as to hear Jesus one day say “Well done my good and faithful Servant”. Scripture confirms anything less than that would be a life unfulfilled.
KBS
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Wow, this really made me think! I love that verse from Romans. It’s so hard not to follow the crowd, but we’re no longer part of that crowd- we’re set aside!! xx
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