Do you know what a group of rhinoceros is called? The collective group is called a "charge"! Charging is their primary means of attack because they are the second largest mammal; however, they are only able to see thirty feet in front of them. This implies that while they are charging at something they have no idea what is at thirty-one feet; therefore, the object must move in order to survive. What does this imply for humans who are seeking spiritual healing? This is a metaphor for running towards a spiritual life with God. Whatever is my way must move so that I can run with reckless abandon towards my eternal prize.
God has placed me at Element 3 Church here in Tallahassee over a year ago. I have learned a great deal and have been blessed by a community that welcomes me just as I am: broken and messy. In the next seven weeks, this community had made the commitment to run towards God through the program called Pathways: Prime. The mission statement is to: make, mature, and mobilize fully devoted followers of Christ. We are doing this by focusing on “I CHARGE” the seven elements that represent our community: Intentionality, Culturally Current, Hospitality, Authenticity, Relational, Grace, and Excellence.
For these seven weeks I have devoted to myself as a time to give of my relationship status to Jesus. I want to fall more in love with Jesus than anyone else. I am giving my body, mind, and soul over to God to mold me into his tangible hand. I have promised myself that I am going to journal/blog about my journey and that I am going to share my journey with this community. I encourage you to keep up with my daily postings for the next seven weeks.
I want to start off today by talking about where I am in my life right now. Recently, I have found myself feeling lonely and longing for someone in my life that adores my quirks, loves the passion of my soul, and is attracted to me. I even went as far as to ask God to put someone in my life. God answers prayers, but he does so to help us learn and with greater intentions than we ever think is possible. A few months ago, I found myself in relationship that was not only horizontal and not vertical, but extremely hurtful for my soul. These past few weeks a new gentleman has come into my life and has flattered me by continuously telling me how attractive I am. This boosted my confidence; however, God told me that something was not right. I could feel in the pit of my stomach that this was not the relationship that God had intended on me having. I received multiple confirmations on this, and thank God for allowing me to be able to recognize when my spirit was being attacked by arrows. If I would not have had my pervious relation with this pervious person, then I would have accepted the arrow as truth and been hurt more severely. In seven weeks, I hope that I am closer to being a more whole person who will soon be able to give of myself to another person. I long for intimacy, but right now being in perfect relationship with God is more than sufficient.
This morning I went on a 16 mile bike ride with two great friends. We rode down to the St. Mark’s light house and watched the sun rise from its sleepy slumber. In today’s devotional, Rebekah Abbott quotes Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God!” Our community is encouraged to take 10 minutes to pray and listen to God, and I pass on that encouragement.
May we charge on learning and growing every day.
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