True Reality by David Elliot
How many times do we get lost in the routine of our lives, and forget why we live the life we’ve been given? Three times, eight times, twenty-seven times… countless times?
I have found as I’ve grown into adulthood that I spend a lot of my time testing the waters, doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and then surprising myself when I find something that I enjoy or am good at. I spend the majority of my time following a busy routine in which I try to fulfil all the expectations that I and others have placed on me. We call them many names: deadlines, assignments, sports commitments, leadership responsibilities, job requirements, and family obligations. The list goes on and on.
Very rarely do we take a step out of the life we know, and throw ourselves into something completely foreign, an alien territory, another world. How valuable it is to be given an opportunity to break routine and capture a new perspective of life, to experience God & hear from Him in a fresh and perhaps quieter place, to discover more about the Father who created us!
This happened earlier this year when I had an opportunity to lead one of the largest teams I’ve ever been involved with to West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The team was made up primarily of High School graduates from Singapore, and young working adults seeking a fresh experience in the Lord, people thirsting to know about His ultimate purpose for their lives. Each of these volunteers had completed a three-month “School of Ministry” course at Tung Ling Bible School.
Each team member was impacted in an intricately purposeful way. One team member, Zhuang Mao described it this way: “home feels like a dream and this is the reality.”
The team began to pick up some broken Bahasa Indonesian and were able to interact more with the children and leaders at the Living Waters ministry.
Hannah said “The dreamy quality of the whole atmosphere there faded and it started dawning upon me that this was reality; a new kind of reality which I found myself getting accustomed to. It was a reality with God being very much in the picture.”
I got to thinking that many times when we think of reality we focus on all that is wrong with the world. Yes, there is evil in the world, and suffering, stress, selfishness and greed. However, experiences like this project have allowed me to check this default mindset and realise that there is a different reality, one in which God Himself displays His Kingdom here on earth. And one of the best parts is that He actually chooses ordinary people like you and I to express this part of Himself to the world.
As twenty-one year old team member Joel explained: “It truly struck me that they [ministry leaders] were normal people just like you and I doing impossible things for God. Their experiences, lessons and struggles truly encouraged me as I could relate to their problems and know God is a faithful God you can depend on.”
I really hope you and I can attempt these impossible things for God without reservation, and to be that light in the darkness directing people that are lost to the anchor of all reality – the One that created us and loves us through and through.
Only in Him can we find what is meant to be, our true reality.
For more testimonies from young adults serving with Nations 2 Reach visit our blog at: http://nations2reach.blogspot.com To find out about opportunities to serve, visit: www.nations2reach.com
