I think we have all had a moment in our life that we asked God why. Why did this happen to me? Why did this happen to them? Why do you want me to do that? There is a lot of mystery in the things God has called us to do. The summer heading into my senior year of high school, God gave me one of these moments.
That summer, I worked as a camp counselor at a Christian camp called Teen Valley Ranch on summer. At the beginning of the summer I had no plans on doing so, in fact I had not even applied. One week my youth pastor was going to speak, and my best friend was working there, so I decided to go up for a week for fun. The next week our youth group was going up, so I stayed for the weekend and then the next week with the youth group. Since I was a little older, they asked me if I wanted to be the junior counselor for the week with my youth group. I jumped on the opportunity and had such a fun week.
That week I really felt like God wanted me to stay the rest of the summer and work at the camp. I didn’t have enough supplies packed, had a job back home that I would have to quit, hadn’t talked to my parents about it, had football practices I would miss which could mean not starting my senior year (which meant A LOT to me), but I really felt like God was telling me to do this. I had not gone through any of the training to be a counselor, had not filled out an application, pretty much had no qualifications, and the camp would not pay me (I had to raise support).
Towards the end of the week I talked to the director of the camp and told him this. He took a day to think and pray about it then met with me and said I could stay and work at the camp that summer. I went home that weekend, packed my bags, told to my parents (who weren’t thrilled but were happy I was at least making good decisions with my life), talked to my job and they told me that when I came back I would still have my job. I went back to camp and had one of the most life changing summers of my life.
I didn’t take time to ask God why he wanted me to stay for the summer. I just followed His voice. It didn’t make much sense because I hadn’t applied or gone through training. Why would they even consider letting me work there for the summer? But there is something really cool about those moments of mystery. In moments of mystery we have an opportunity to trust God. We have an opportunity to walk in faith.
I am not saying that revelation is bad. It is a great thing. But there are times where we have to step out in faith and not know why. Looking back now, that summer was the starting point for everything that I am doing now. That summer was the start of me walking in God’s calling of ministering to young people. I had no clue that was what it would be at the time.
Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us,
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
There are just some things that we are not going to understand. We have to learn to be OK with that. God doesn’t give us the full picture at once because He wants us to walk in faith. If God had told me everything He had in store for me at 17 years old I would have never believed it. I would have never thought it was possible. I decided to step out in faith into the mystery. When I did, it launched me into something I would have never imagined.
until next time…