Go in Peace, but Go!

"What good is it, brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" James 2:14 (ESV)

Recently, my wife and I were able to take the trip of a lifetime. We visited Israel - the Land of Canaan, the Holy City of God, a people and place named after God's chosen people. A place so rich in history and eternal significance that it's difficult to adequately put it into words. A place where - once you've visited - will add color to the black and white pages of the Bible far beyond HD. The trip of a lifetime. Israel wasn't just a vacation or sightseeing tour but a pilgrimage. It was an opportunity to connect with the Scriptures in a way I could only previously imagine. It was a special opportunity to commune with the Lord and to meditate on His sovereignty. It also gave me an opportunity to ponder the things of God, specifically, what assignment He has for me. The Lord has been speaking to my heart for quite some time regarding how He wants me to serve Him and His Church. This pilgrimage opened my eyes to the fact that I had been running from that assignment by seeking other things to satisfy a hunger that only He could fulfill.

Does this sound familiar? Has the Lord placed a special burden on your heart that you've been trying to ignore? Is there something that's causing you to lose sleep and to not be at peace? God has given each of us a gift/ability to be used to glorify Him by serving others in the name of Jesus. But fulfilling your God-given assignment requires faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But what good is faith without works? According to the Scriptures, faith and works go hand in hand; you can't have one without the other. In that same chapter of James where James refers to the faith of Abraham, he tells us that "a person is justified by works and not faith alone." verse 26 says, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." James is not saying we can work our way to heaven. We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. What James is saying is that faith without the fruit of works is not salvation.

It's time to stop running. If the Lord is speaking to your heart, it's time to exercise your "faith muscles" and get to work! God will give you the strength - His strength - to do what He's assigned you to do. Others may not understand, but the Lord has given you this assignment, not them. Yes, taking such a leap of faith may be a little scary, but the Lord has promised never to leave you nor forsake you. And if there's one person you can depend on to be with you always, it's the Lord.

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)