Seattle — Day 10: Pressing On
Reflections — As this blog continues, its been a pleasure to share my journey and adventures with those that continue to read, pray and stay connected with me. To the few individuals who read all these the posts daily, I want to thank you. You encourage me to continue pressing on in this expression of worship and remind me when I get disheartened that there is purpose in this, in all of this. To those that read every now and then, I don’t blame you or shame you / etc for not doing so. I’m actually incredible thankful that you desire to even hear about my life. I just want to remind you that you are under no obligation to, no matter how close you consider yourself to me, or I to you. On top of that, I’ve intentionally decided not to post things like “day _ is up.” I want to make this blog something enjoyable, where there is a liberation from any obligatory or even peer pressuring factors that would incline you to read them. I mentioned this briefly in the last blog post, but I want your reading of these posts, and my writing of these posts, to be a joyful experience and an expression of worship towards Jesus. Otherwise, they would be non-beneficial and detrimental to your spiritual health and mine. May you find joy, hope, encouragement, blessing and reminders through your readings of these posts and of the words that the Lord places on my heart for you all, and even myself as I’m writing. With that being said, please continue reading only if you desire to do so. This isn’t about me, nor is it about you. Even in my stories that write, or experiences that I have, it isn’t about me. This is about Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. It’s always going to be about Jesus.
“And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’ And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am — except for these chains.’” — Acts 26:28–29
This is an incredible passage that tells of the story of Paul testifying to King Agrippa in the midst of captivity, thus the except for these chains segment in his statement. It’s honestly astounding the kind of faith that Paul displayed all the while in terrible, life threatening situations and circumstances. Paul was a man that knew that it was not by his own strength or volition that men would come to know Christ, but solely through Christ and Christ alone. He stood before a man that could very well take away his life, preached the gospel to him, and then spoke saying “I long for you to have the same joy as me.” The most astonishing part of this entire segment is the portion where Paul says whether short or long. What a bold statement. I think so often than not, at least for me, I see the salvation of my friends and family members, or even beyond that, hinderances in front of me in my life, and think that everything will happen and pass in a short time. That there will have to be no waiting in my life, or in the things that I pray. Now please note that though the Lord is more than capable of working in the short term and immediate moments, there is such a beautiful design in the purpose of God’s delay. It’s this lack of immediate response and delay that pushes us to continue to depend on Christ, and to wait for His sovereign deliverance at His anointed hour. In the words of my Livingwater pastor Joshua, God’s delay does not mean there will be a lacking of deliverance. So whether short or long, in whatever you are praying for, in whatever I am waiting expectantly for, stay hopeful and press on brothers and sisters. Know that His delay is for your good and for the good of those around you who love Him. Characters are being refined, patience is being born and given, and faith is being stirred as trust is being returned to the Lord.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.” — Hosea 2:14–15
Amazonian (Yeah that’s actually what we’re called)
Day 6 now working for this great company. We just moved in to a new building and here are some pics! I was going to upload more, but I thought that I could space them out between blog posts since I’m not going anywhere for a long time, and you probably don’t just want to read my voice without pictures because that’s why you’re all really reading this. The pictures.
But yeah, work today was awesome. It’s really cool getting to learn a lot of things that I’ll be using for a large portion of my life and being able to continue to grow my skill set. I really know that Jesus is preparing me through this internship for even greater things that will come. From glory to glory to glorious (2 Corinthians 3:18). I’m really looking forward to tomorrow where I get to work on some new things and I get to be more accustomed to this new work space. Also, I’m getting lunch with Andrew my manager tomorrow, so please pray for us. Please pray that I would have the boldness to share my life with him and to begin to develop a life long relationship with him. That in whether short or long, I would trust that the Lord is working to save him and show him the light.
Meditations — I’ll keep this last section short. The words Press on have just been ringing in my head. It’s my anthem during this season of my life where I’m away from family, where I’m away from people really, and I’m here in Seattle living alone, working in a small team, new building, new position, new everything. It’s been rough. I still don’t really feel any loneliness, isolation, or anything like that. I haven’t really felt much in a while, but I know at least in my mind and thoughts that I’ve been lonely, where I desired at least in my thoughts to be my brothers from Berkeley. So in this season where I find myself distant, my song, the song that the Lord has given me is to press on. To stop looking to the left or the right, but to just press on. Church, whether in the valley or on the mountain, press on. God is with us, and God loves us. We’re almost home. Press on.
This has been one of the songs that have been ministering to my heart during this season of my life. I hope that helps you seek the Lord and to bear much fruit in your lives.
People of God — United Pursuit
In this hour of our lives
And with the Father on our side
Forgetting all that lies behind
You find us pressing on
One, two, three, four steps
Take a little more with you
Show me one more step in the world
Thats all I need to move on
Move on, move on, move on
When we follow the Spirit
And wait for the Lord
We find strength for tomorrow
And trust for his Word
I wanna follow you, Jesus
I wanna go with you, Jesus
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for my manager Andrew. Please pray for him to come to know Jesus. To understand his sin and his wickedness and to understand the need for a savior. That the Lord would be merciful to him. That the Lord whether short or long would come and deliver his soul from the pits of hell. Jesus is mighty to save. May we call upon the name of the Lord for this man’s sake.
Soli Deo Gloria
