HOW FAR IS FAR ENOUGH?
By: Micaiah Wesler
“And don’t be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18)
“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)
Recently Pastor Matt told me a story of how he went on a kayaking trip on the Little Miami River with Pastor Bobbi. They started out with a general idea of when they were going to get out, but had no set plans on how to actually get back. It was the start of a short, yet fun, adventure! When he told me the story it resonated quite a bit with me. Earlier that morning I had been praying and pondering with the Lord. I was telling the Lord that I wanted revival, but not one that “blew in and blew out” like many revivals we have seen in the past. I want a revival that is sustained and grows.
Then I heard the Lord respond to me and ask, “How far are you wanting to go?” It was certainly not a condescending question, but it was an invitation. He knew that I have preconceived ideas of what revival looks like and what my limits of comfortability are. He leaves the depths of revival up to us. When we reach our decided limit, He backs off.
What if Pastor Matt and Bobbi had decided NOT to get out where they did? The Little Miami flows into the Ohio River, then into the Mississippi River, then the Gulf of Mexico and finally into the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. From right here on the Little Miami they had the opportunity to see the world. They could have kayaked all the way to Africa, China or Australia if they had wanted to! This is exactly what the Lord was talking to me about. Am I happy to get out a few miles down the river or do I want to go all the way to ocean? Do I want to go all the way to foreign countries where it’s totally unfamiliar and new? Keep with me-- I’m speaking spiritually here.
How far is far enough? Where am I planning to “get out of the river”? Have I already determined in my mind to stop somewhere before we even get started? Do we say we want revival, but we only want it to look a certain way? Do we want it to look nice, orderly and neat, never over the top or too crazy? Never too powerful or too loud, never too quiet and unsettling, never too convicting or confrontational? The list goes on and you get the point.
I made up in my mind that morning that I will never say, “That’s far enough” to the Lord. I never want to put my kayak on the bank and stop while knowing that I could go as far as I wanted in the Lord. I don’t know what revival will look like, how crazy it may get, how intense and amazing it may be, but what I have determined is that I’m going to go and find out.
“And don’t be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18)
“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)
Recently Pastor Matt told me a story of how he went on a kayaking trip on the Little Miami River with Pastor Bobbi. They started out with a general idea of when they were going to get out, but had no set plans on how to actually get back. It was the start of a short, yet fun, adventure! When he told me the story it resonated quite a bit with me. Earlier that morning I had been praying and pondering with the Lord. I was telling the Lord that I wanted revival, but not one that “blew in and blew out” like many revivals we have seen in the past. I want a revival that is sustained and grows.
Then I heard the Lord respond to me and ask, “How far are you wanting to go?” It was certainly not a condescending question, but it was an invitation. He knew that I have preconceived ideas of what revival looks like and what my limits of comfortability are. He leaves the depths of revival up to us. When we reach our decided limit, He backs off.
What if Pastor Matt and Bobbi had decided NOT to get out where they did? The Little Miami flows into the Ohio River, then into the Mississippi River, then the Gulf of Mexico and finally into the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. From right here on the Little Miami they had the opportunity to see the world. They could have kayaked all the way to Africa, China or Australia if they had wanted to! This is exactly what the Lord was talking to me about. Am I happy to get out a few miles down the river or do I want to go all the way to ocean? Do I want to go all the way to foreign countries where it’s totally unfamiliar and new? Keep with me-- I’m speaking spiritually here.
How far is far enough? Where am I planning to “get out of the river”? Have I already determined in my mind to stop somewhere before we even get started? Do we say we want revival, but we only want it to look a certain way? Do we want it to look nice, orderly and neat, never over the top or too crazy? Never too powerful or too loud, never too quiet and unsettling, never too convicting or confrontational? The list goes on and you get the point.
I made up in my mind that morning that I will never say, “That’s far enough” to the Lord. I never want to put my kayak on the bank and stop while knowing that I could go as far as I wanted in the Lord. I don’t know what revival will look like, how crazy it may get, how intense and amazing it may be, but what I have determined is that I’m going to go and find out.