Read and Grow

We live in a world full of restlessness, fear, and instability. Yet, as Christians, Jesus offers us peace amidst it all.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Peace is one of the greatest gifts God gave to mankind. Yet, often we can feel far from peace. So how do we as Christians live from the place of peace that Jesus describes? Erwin McManus illustrates it well when he speaks about worship, and how genuine worship can create a shift of responsibility in our thinking.

When we are feeling overwhelmed by life, feeling the stress, anxiety, and the despair, McManus says it’s because we have taken on responsibility for things that we do not have the power to carry. So how do we shift the burden and draw on the peace Jesus offers?

Let it Go

Erwin explains when we take on the stressors it’s like we pitch a horizontal roof over our life. When the rain falls, it gets heavy and our roof collapses. Yet, if we shift our roof to be more vertical, aka, connect with God. It causes the rain to pour off to the side and water all the fields around it, growing a harvest that eventually bears fruit.

Re-align

Worshipping God teaches our soul to shift our roof vertically. This helps us to re-align our internal narrative too, “This is bigger than me. This is not mine to bear. I’m going to give it to God.” which can provide a sense of peace even in the chaos.

Practice

When the stressors of life start to take over your peace, practice the art of refining your soul worship so that when the rain comes, you can continue to be peacemakers who create fruit within the storm.

How are you practicing the art of resting in God's peace in this season?

Tayla is a former competitive surfer and self-confessed introvert. After an injury halted her surfing career, Tayla felt that God was prompting her to step outside her comfort zone and live life with a focus more on others than herself. She tells the story...

Tayla:

I found that living for myself is actually quite comfortable. So when I felt challenged to step back and start looking for others, it was scary, but I found that that's actually what we are called to do.

When I was living in South Africa, I was surfing competitively for a while and I was just so focused on myself - until I had an injury that prevented me from competing. The day before a contest that I’d be training really hard for, I sliced my foot right open and I couldn't walk anymore.

And that's when I really felt God was like convicting me that I needed to step out.

I'm a super introverted person, which made it challenging for me to step out and share my faith. So it took a lot of courage, but it also brought a lot of fear when it came to actually doing something. So, I was praying for opportunities to come along where I could share my faith and one day I was in the water surfing and I came across these guys. I found out that they were ex street children and that one of my friends was going to start volunteering at the organization where these guys were from, called Surfers Not Street Children.

I just had the idea one day, you know, maybe I should start a Bible study. So a friend and I started one up with these guys which was really challenging because it was really out of my comfort zone. The first time we rocked up at Bible study, it was pretty scary as we didn't really know what to speak about or how to engage with them. They were late teens/young adults, and were pretty sceptical.

I found their push back hard, but it was then I had to remember, you know, everyone comes from a different background, so just showing love towards them was the most important thing. Sometimes we have no idea where people have been or what they're going through, and sometimes they just need to be shown love. These guys were from the streets and they grew up on the streets. So we would try to choose topics that would relate to them.

There was this one really skeptical guy who came for the first few weeks. After a while he became a bit more engaged in the study and asked more questions. It was so cool to see him interested in wanting to know more. One day he came to Bible study and just showed us his chest… he had ‘God is good’ tattooed across his whole chest - just like the ‘No Ragrets’ meme - which was really cool to see.

That’s when I was like ‘this is so awesome’ and this is why I'm doing this. It was so encouraging because I had been so scared in starting the Bible study. It was so awesome being able to see how God can even use an introvert.

I realised it's so important to be obedient to God's calling even when it’s something that's scary and we have a lot of fear towards. It’s encouraging knowing that when we are obedient, God is with us and he has put the opportunity in front of us for a reason. He’ll always go before us and be with us through it all.

Brian is a regular guy who loves Jesus and has a heart to share him with the people he meets every day. A chance encounter at a gas station became an opportunity to share Jesus in a miraculous way. Brian was ready for that opportunity because he made one simple life choice…

The other day I was at a gas station. I noticed a dude who seemed to be limping, he looked like he was in pain. So I went up to him and I said “Hey man, can I pray for you?” he replied, “Sure, yeah, you can pray for me.”

It turned out he was a Muslim so he wasn’t bothered by me praying for him at all. I prayed that all his pain would go away. At first, nothing happened but after a few moments, he turned back to me and said that his pain had gone away! I said “That’s because Jesus loves you and cares for you.”

It was a super quick moment. He didn’t trust in Jesus at that moment but it planted a seed. And maybe further down the road, he’ll be open to hearing the Gospel.

An easy way I’ve found to start talking to people about Jesus is to ask “Hey, does that hurt?” because there are people everywhere who are in pain. I don’t always have the right words to say but I just try to build their connection to Jesus.

There is one decision I’ve made that has been super helpful in sharing the Gospel, when I go out into the world I simply keep my eyes open. Too often we’re so focused on ourselves we miss opportunities that are right in front of us. Sometimes there are things going on around you that the Lord wants you to see. He might want you to move in on someone else’s life. Right there at that moment. We need to learn to take our blinders off and ask God “What are you doing in this place around me?”

Pretty soon when you do this, you’ll start to see the needs of those around you. Everywhere you go, there’s somebody who needs a word of encouragement, kindness, an act of charity or healing through the gospel.

Anyone can do this. You’ll be amazed at what comes across your path as you simply begin to move about your world with your eyes open.

Henry lives life at 120%. He works hard to become an expert in whatever field or topic that he sets his mind to. From coffee to social media management and now garden maintenance, Henry is an entrepreneur with a big heart for people.

He shared with us a recent opportunity he had to talk to a client about Jesus.

I was mowing one of my client’s lawns. He came out really excited about showing me the mirror in his house. He asked me to go look at the mirror and as I walked in I noticed the Bible. Then he showed me everything in his house. As we were walking back outside I saw the Bible again so I said, “Do you read the Bible?” And he said, “Not really. I used to. I mean I believe in God.” I told him that I go to church. That just started a whole conversation about Jesus.

— Henry

Fast forward a few months…

Now every time I mow his lawn we pray. We’ve caught up a few times and we pray as well. He says, “I can feel the Holy Spirit.” Now he’s at the point where he really wants to come to church.

Opportunities like this are linked to how much you’re pursuing God at the time. I love what Paul says in Romans 1, “I am unashamed of the Gospel.” You can hear it in his blood. I can’t wait, every morning to share the hope and the strength that His goodness brings. The more I pursue God, the more I see the opportunities.

So, when I saw the Bible sitting there something jumped out. It was a split-second moment where I realised that this was the time to share. You become more aware of moments like these and God gives you a boldness to carry through with it.

— Henry

This God-breathed boldness has made a way for many more conversations about faith and Jesus.

Henry shared another story about a workmate:

He found a cross necklace when he was at work and was so excited to give it to me. I wanted to try and restructure the way he saw Jesus so I said, “Did you know that back in the day the cross wasn’t necessarily a nice thing for Christian’s, but their symbolism was a fish or an anchor because the hope that Jesus brought was the anchor for their life. So for Christianity our biggest symbol is hope.” He said to me, “I could go for some hope!”

From there it was a natural conversation talking about that and how Jesus is what you wake up for and He’s what gets you through the hard times. So that opened us up to talk more about what he’s struggling with and how Jesus could be the answer to his life.

The way you share Jesus with people who don’t yet know Him, is by talking about what He’s changed in you. You can argue the theology or why He’s real, but people see Jesus through the change in you. So sharing what He’s done in your life is always the best way.

— Henry

We experience change through our own personal devotion and intimacy with Jesus. The result is life just like Henry has described — awareness of the opportunities all around us and a story of our own transformation.