What will you lay down?

Reality often hits us like a ton of bricks. We can't fathom what is happening, we just know it is. Tragedy can strike in minute and leave us utterly breathless and confused. Blaming God won't get us anywhere. Embracing God, now that will take us beyond anything we could possibly imagine. To lose people so young, kills us slowly. At least in our minds. We can't comprehend it, we weren't meant to. We were not created to understand or to experience death. But we do. Thank the Lord, that he can provide us with peace of mind, strength, and a higher purpose.

A higher purpose: Our Calling. That is something that we were created to do. Everybody's calling is to minister the Gospel. But each calling is different. Sometimes we have to leave everything we've ever know. Others will stay where they've always been. We all will grow, and we all will leave something, or someone, behind. But that doesn't mean we ever forget. We just continue on. We don't choose our calling. God chooses it for us. He then plants a desire in our heart to act on our calling and live our lives accordingly. Again, we won't always understand it, but God's ways are perfect.

We live our lives with the understanding that nothing can harm us, that God will always protect us. And then someone close to us is taken. What gives? We so often think that living for God means everything will always work out. We'll get the job, pay the bills, get the healing, survive the accident. But is just doesn't always happen that way. Lots of times we lose the job, we miss a payment, we get unsatisfactory test results, our friends don't make it. Where does that leave us? 

I once heard a very wise young man say this, "God isn't a genie in a bottle." Or something of that nature. He doesn't give us everything we ask. But that doesn't mean he doesn't hear us or answer our prayers. I don't understand why my dad had a tumor, I don't understand why my mom is sick, and I don't understand why Josh and Kristen didn't survive. But I understand this: God has a plan. He has a purpose. Everything will not always work out, it's not always supposed to. So while he won't grant my every prayer, he will hold my hand through every storm. Leading and guiding me through the unknown, so that one day, everything will make sense because I'll finally be with Him.

Don't ever underestimate God. Or his calling on your life. No matter what trial we face, we'll make it through if we follow him. God called Simon and Andrew to follow him. They dropped their livelihood for him. They laid their nets and followed him. 

What will you lay down?