Reflections of a Journey with God - China 2019

Good morning, it’s so good to be back. Back to Margie, back to home, back to the US, back to my bed. It’s so good to be back to the normality of the rhythm, routine, convenience and comfort that God offers me in home. But I return different. As you truly serve God you can’t help but be changed. Our goal is to become more like Christ and if you’re not changing even a little bit every day, well, then something is a little amiss. I’ve learned that you can spur even greater change in your life if you’re willing to go to great lengths to serve Him in greater ways. God is the one that does the changing and if you want to be changed, go crazy and serve Him in ways that seem crazy to the world. He will not disappoint in changing your heart to be more like His.

I’m prepared for the question that I’m sure I’ll hear a hundred times in the ensuing weeks. “How was it?” I’ve been formulating my response for days, especially on the 15 hour plane ride home yesterday where I had more than enough time to “be still.” My official response? “How much time do you have?” You see as Shrek says about ogres, “Ogres are like onions, they have many layers”, this trip was like an onion. What you hear really depends on how deep you want to go.

And deep did God take me on this trip. I was changed, I was moved, I was touched. I was broken, I was built up, I was transformed. Crying was a daily occurrence and I realized that it’s a vehicle God uses in a powerful way. Some were gentle tears of happiness and others were tears of weeping. Weeping in amazement of just how utterly good and amazing God is. Weeping as a result of how fortunate I am to be used by the God of Abraham and the God of David. To be used by our redeemer, Jesus Christ. Oh, that He would use me to further His kingdom and allow me a small glimpse of His power, majesty and goodness. Folks, I saw some things that broke my heart and yet it sent me soaring at the same time. The only way I can see a simple human processing such glory, is to fall on your face in tears. Our society sees crying as a weakness, but once again our society has the things of God backwards. Tears are a tool of God that allows us to take one small step towards processing the awesome power of the God of creation. The tears of serving are precious to behold indeed.

There was one stark reasoning that God opened to me and I will share it. During the 26 days of this trip I Iearned much. I learned about God, I learned about true servant leadership and I learned about myself. I learned more about my limits, my boundaries and personal sacrifice than I cared to. I’m not too proud to admit that on this trip God pushed me far beyond myself. I could never have reached this place of sacrifice if I had simply stayed home. And of course, God knew this. That is why we must go for God. The real changing and stretching of your soul is road trip business. God does great things to the human heart as it goes to great lengths to serve Him in places far away from home.

So, what was my revelation? Well, it came about day 18 when I hit a wall. I knew it would come; God had alerted me. The question is what I would do with the obstacle. You see in life there are many obstacles, but do you see them as simply obstacles or do you see them as opportunities? I pledged to God on this trip that I would allow Him to address the obstacles before I did. He is the King of Kings and He is the Lord of Lords, my obstacles to Him are nothing. He can turn my obstacles into an opportunity for me to see more of Him and that’s exactly what He did. He upended my hurdles and through His power, I simply walked right over them.

I realized through this process much more about myself and the three spheres that humans encompass. We are in our essence, physical, emotional and spiritual beings. Three different planes of existence and they all require a certain level of maintenance for us to realize and enjoy a symbiotic state of happiness or joy. If one sphere suffers, we suffer. If two fall into chaos, our life results in chaos. And well, if all three spiral out of control, we are doomed. Doomed to live a life that is void of joy, goodness, laughter and being able to really enjoy the goodness of God. You see, these three must be carefully tended to with the love of a rose gardener. Tenderly watering, pruning and harvesting the cherished blooms with the timing of a swiss watch and the care of a new mother. Self-care indeed.

On this trip I taught the international volunteers a devotional lesson about just this. I compared our three spheres to a cell phone battery. Some days we start at 100% battery life and it lasts us all day. But some days we need more of our battery and it gets dangerously low on us. Some days we forget to recharge and it inevitable costs us the use of what we need the most. We must indeed take very great care of our batteries and ask God to recharge us fully.

The first of the three planes is physical. This one is very straight forward. Get good rest. Build in time to relax. Take care of the temple that God has gifted us. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

Now normally this is very easy. Go to bed at a decent hour. Simply climb into your comfy bed and get some well-deserved and much needed deep sleep. But what would happen if this simple formula were denied? What if the simplest of needs were denied to you? This is step one of my journey. Lack of sleep resulting in one of the three spheres being thrown into chaos. Let’s talk sometime about Chinese mattresses. This trip has taught me great things about the differences between the East and the West and mattresses are a big one. In Hong Kong the dorms had mattresses that were about 4” thick and very hard. I was able to commandeer two and I stacked them on top of each other and slept ok. Shanghai was a much different story. The dorms had bunk beds and the only foundation they offered was a simple bare piece of plywood. The mattress? Not a mattress but more of a “bed pad.” A 1” thick piece of batting inside a sheet. It’s funny now to look back, but at the time I wish someone could have recorded my reaction. In my mind it seemed like some kind of a cruel joke as I tried to process the thought of me sleeping on this baby changing pad. That night as I lay on that rock hard surface longing for sleep, God and I had some talks like I’ve never had. Our discomfort can move us quickly. It’s all part of the journey of truly serving Him; being moved. It’s all about His mission not my comfort and enduring discomfort for Him moves the heart. It moves me from an internal perspective to one that is truly external. God never promised me that serving Him would be easy or comfortable.

As a result, sleep deprivation entered the picture. A few days later he provided a little more padding and there was praise on my lips. I am so ashamed to say that I have never praised God for a comfy bed a day in my life, but that night I praised God for a 1” thick camping gel pad that someone had loaned me. Folks, sacrifice is not necessarily a bad word, in fact, it can move you to new places. This along with a roommate that had a serious snoring problem and you had a zombie-like Dan that fought through very little sleep for the 17 days of camp. 5 hours of sleep for days in a row has quite the snowball effect and it created quite the wrinkle, but God is bigger. Much bigger.

The next sphere is emotional. By far one of the single most difficult things I have ever done was required of me on this trip. Being separated from my sweet Margie for 26 days. The single largest span we have ever been apart. So, I’m sure you’re asking, “then why did you do it?” And that would be a valid question, although with all due respect, I do not think you would properly understand the answer. You see, we had a few friends that thought this was a clear case of spousal neglect. How could you do this to your wife? Aren’t you a good husband? All were tough to hear and thoughts I had myself entertained, but in the end God’s voice is much mightier than that of any man or woman. He spoke to us both and although we did not fully understand, we bowed to Him in obedience. I had after all pledged to God. Whatever He asks of me I will do. Folks, when you serve God it’s not a buffet. You don’t get to casually stroll along the options and pick what makes you happy and refuse what you don’t like. This type of approach brings no challenge and a life that is not challenged brings no growth.

The emotional impact of the trip was massive. But God is bigger. He can compensate. God will comfort. I missed Margie so much. As we embraced at the airport yesterday, the tears came freely, and I let them. I no longer fight the tears but embrace them as God uses them in a beautiful expression. In that moment of reunion, God had a reward for me that somehow strangely offset the weeks of being apart. You see, your sacrifice for God does not go unnoticed. He promises to bless those who serve Him, and God’s promises are the single strongest bond this world will ever witness.

“Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. (Matt 19:27-28)

But these promises of God must be claimed, you must act first in order to claim the blessings later.

The third sphere we possess is spiritual. This is the area that I firmly believe is truly neglected in our world today. It seems the entire world today is from Missouri and they must be shown to believe. The world easily recognizes the physical aspect of our existence because it’s so easily seen and satiated. You’re tired, you sleep. Simple. You’re hungry, you eat, easy cheesy. And even though our emotions cannot be seen, they are also easily acknowledged by our world. You cannot see love but it’s there. You cannot touch joy but it’s still very real. Even though you cannot see it or feel it, losing a loved one is one of the most real things in the world. But what about the spiritual? You can’t see it, does it exist? Most people simply ignore the great spiritual need that exist in our lives. We all greatly crave love to satisfy our emotional needs but what about our spiritual needs? You see, God taught me a huge life lesson on this topic during this trip. The three spheres are all essential and all must be in balance, but the spiritual need, the one we most often neglect, is by far the most important.

So, I found myself at day 18, hitting a wall. I was the most exhausted I had ever been. Not single day tired, but days of tiredness stacked one on top of the other. Good quality sleep was just not to be found. I came to realize that I must simply power through. I was to learn to live and operate with minimal sleep. My physical realm would suffer but I could sacrifice here. My emotional loss was great, but I knew that Margie was 100% supportive and I also knew that God had great things to do here in China or He would not have called me and thus separated us. God does not cause pain in our lives for no reason.

So here I sat one morning at 5:30 am in our meeting room all by myself. Red swollen eyes and aching joints, sucking on coffee as if it were prescribed for the pain. I prayed to God. So desperate for His voice. So desperate for His comfort. And he did not disappoint. But it came from a strange place. My former teacher at my church, Fred, took some time out of his busy day to simply send me an encouraging email. And in that email, he shared one single verse that transformed my trip. I wrote it down on a scrap of paper and carried it in my pocket for the rest of the trip. I would read it several times a day and it would empower me. It would console me. It would lift me up. It would refocus my diffracted vision. You see, in that moment I was physically empty and I was emotionally broken but my friends, I was spiritually full. God would not forsake me on this trip as I served Him, and He revealed a valuable lesson to me. Back at home I am physically rested and emotionally content, but I am not as spiritually full as I was sitting in a room alone in China, tired and lonely. God had filled me to overflowing spiritually and as a result I could continue to serve on His mission. I was physically and emotionally bankrupt, but my friends, I was soaring on the wings of eagles spiritually as he lifted me up to heights I had never known. At that moment the trip made perfect sense as my heart shifted, and my mind gained comprehension. I come back a changed man and I understand more deeply about serving and loving God. I understand better what it requires, what it demands and what He supplies as a result. God will equip you and prepare you to serve Him no matter the place, the time or the circumstances. But you must go. You must follow Him. And as far as the verse that empowered me?

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 1 Corinthians 12:9

So that the power of Christ may rest upon me indeed.

My good, good friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, it is so good to be back. Thank you for your constant vigil of prayers. Without your prayers this trip would not have bore the fruit it did. When God’s people petition and cry out, He hears and He acts. And as result, we saw young lives transformed eternally. We saw young people in China with no hope, grasp hope firmly with their hearts. We saw young people that were spiritually forlorn gain the kingdom of Heaven. And folks, that’s what it’s all about. Everyone deserves the love of Jesus and that’s our job...to go and tell the world about Jesus.

Blessings to you all, and please know…you don’t have to fly to China for a month to tell people about Jesus. Speak His name to those around you today. No matter the cost, speak His name and watch Him fill you to overflowing in preparation.

May God bless you richly today as you serve Him and serve others.

Shanghai skyline with the world's 2nd tallest building