I am a baker, I bake things, but in the last few months it's been so much more than flour and frosting. This story starts back around early February when my church started a sermon series on Joshua that blew my mind.
First of all, I finally made the realization that Veggie Tales got it wrong when it came to Jericho. The people of Jericho were TERRIFIED of the nation of Israel because they had heard how God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan for them. There was none of this jeering "keep walking but you won't knock down our walls" nonsense. This same Israel nation, with their extremely powerful God, was on their door step, just strolling around their city.... in silence... for seven days... The anticipation must have been murder on their nerves. Oye!
Anyway, back to the story. Joshua was a conquer, he and his army conquered the land in the name of the Lord... I'm not going to even touch on this hot topic (because I'm still wrestling with it myself), so (for now) I'm simply going to pose it as a fact; this is what happened. They conquered and did it quite successfully.
Our preacher posed a question to us: Where is the land the Lord has provided for YOU to conquer in His name?
I thought about this for a little while and came to the conclusion my land was my workplace and my school. All of this would have been MUCH more exciting if I wasn't a big chicken when it came to sharing my faith. I have this fear that non-Christians will label me ignorant for believing in God and for putting my hope and faith in a man that supposedly was raised from the dead, because it all sounds like crazy talk, a well spun story to get people to not swear, have sex, or drink. In my heart, though, it all makes perfect sense. I have been redeemed from my former self and know freedom and hope because of this "crazy talk." Then, I had a thought: God made parting a river at flood stage and bringing down the walls of mighty Jericho look like child's play, so why is it hard for me to believe that He can soften the hearts of the people I see everyday? So I began to pray, not only for the opportunities, but for the eyes to see the opportunities and (like Joshua) the courage to act in those moments.
I chickened out and stuck my foot in my mouth several times in this process... or so it seemed. Praise be to God that he is not limited to using only our successes, but makes much of even our most meager, stumbling steps of obedience.
I am constantly amazed at how simple God makes things when we finally make the decision to trust Him. Since the beginning of this process: one of my coworkers now comes to church with me (and God in turn is using this person to redeem my hurts from The Church), I've made time with a girl to get coffee and talk more, one of our regular customers asked me today about miracles which lead to a heart felt conversation about his life, and I'm attempting to learn French so I can communicate with the Cameroon couple who comes in to clean at night. I stand amazed at the transformation of my own heart, going from fear to a deep longing for all people to be brought into a relationship with the Lord.
Now, in my heart, as I converse with people, I feel like God is a little child poised at my right side tugging on my shirt saying "I want that one! Can I have that one in my kingdom too?!" His love for the wandering and the lost- myself included- is overwhelmingly beautiful and I am blessed to get to be an active participant in His redemption story.
