faith – Page 11 – John Markum

Safe Is NOT Safe

Posted on July 3, 2011 by johnmarkum

“Better safe than sorry!” That was a line I heard alot growing up. And it certainly is true in many of the circumstances we face.

“Was that paper due tomorrow or next Thursday?” Better safe than sorry…
“Do I have enough money in my account to buy that?” Better safe than sorry…
“Would my spouse be ok with me doing this?” DEFINITELY better safe than sorry!

There are times when it is wisdom that tells you to play it safe. But the wisdom of God is different from the wisdom of this world. And God consistently leads His people to make choices that are anything but playing it safe:

Get in the face of the most powerful human on earth and demand my people’s freedom.
Leave the safety and security of your hometown and go somewhere you’ve never been.
Go attack a 9′ 6″ tall warrior with a rock.
Break the law by preach in my name.

Jesus said throughout the gospels, “If anyone will save their life, they shall lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you shall find it.” Matthew 10:39

When God calls us to do something risky -share our faith, trust Him with our finances, relocate yourself and family, change jobs, end a relationship, follow Him into the unfamiliar- we cannot afford to play it safe. In an attempt to stay comfortable, many would-be Christ followers have tried to be safe rather than sorry, and only ended up “safe” and sorry.

I know that all conventional wisdom is telling you not to leave your safe place. That if you do, it could all go bad. And it could. That’s the adventure! We are trusting in the Unseen to lead us over circumstances that are bigger than ourselves. And the payoff of experiencing God’s provision and protection is nothing short of a game-changer.

I know people in my life and ministry who are going through some tough circumstances. Some of them feel like they are cornered in a place where all they have left is trusting God. In some ways, I wish everyone in my church could experience that… to have the anxiety of realizing you can’t do it on your own, only to be outmatched by the exhilaration of watching God work mightily on your behalf.

One missionary once told me, “It’s safer to be 4,000 miles from home and in the will of God, than at home but out of the will of God.” He was right. I would rather be “not safe” from the world’s perspective and “not sorry” from mine, than to be “safe” in the world’s perspective and “sorry” in my own.

Step out on faith. Trust God. Be dangerous. You’ll never go back to playing it safe again! And you won’t be sorry that you trusted Him either.

Blessings,

John

Traffic Rock-Out

Posted on June 28, 2011 by johnmarkum

I got stared down in traffic the other day while rocking out to some Skillet on my iPod. Awake, good CD! Anyway… I’m certain that I looked ridiculous in traffic playing a crazy air guitar and drum solo. The truck next to me in traffic had two little girls and their Dad getting a good laugh at me rocking out in our minivan.

I’m sure you don’t look nearly as bizarre as me in traffic, but have you ever felt the same way? Like you were excited and passionate about something you felt God wanted you to do, but others were just getting a laugh at your enthusiasm? Or maybe you have something compelling that God has put on your heart, but you’re apprehensive of sharing it with someone else because you don’t think they would get it?

Truth is, you’re probably right. The reason? The same reason I look like a moron in traffic. The people in the other car can’t hear what I hear. And the people critical of your calling don’t hear what God is telling you to do either. If the people in traffic could hear what I was hearing, then maybe they would be moving like I was moving.

If God was telling other people the same thing He was telling you, then maybe they would share your enthusiasm.

But God didn’t tell them. He told you. It doesn’t have to get others excited. Just you. Don’t wait for other people to approve of God’s calling on your life before you obey. And pay no attention to those who don’t get it.

My response to the other people in the other lane, laughing at my traffic time rock-out? I smiled, waved, and kept jamming out.

The music was just too good to stop for the sake of the opinion of someone else.

Blessings,

John

God took my lollipop!

Posted on June 24, 2011 by johnmarkum

My kids like lollipops. But not nearly as much as they love ice cream. And that only makes sense. No kid in their right mind would ever pick a lollipop over ice cream. I remember one occasion when Emilee, my 5 year old, had helped herself to a sucker from a bag of candy after dinner. I had already headed toward the fridge to get her an ice cream fudge pop for finishing her food, but I was not going to let her have both. Before presenting her with the ice cream, I insisted that she give me back the sucker she taken (without permission, by the way). I had to convince her that I had something better for her before she trusted me enough to give up her sucker.

I find that we are often the same way as my 5 year. We will hold onto what we have now, instead of letting go and trusting God to deliver something better for us. It happens all the time:

– A single person stays in a dead end relationship from fear of being alone. They miss out on someone more equally yoked.

– A married couple gets themselves tied up in debt. They miss the opportunity to invest in the kingdom of God.

– A student stays with the same bad influences and tries to pretend they’re not pulling him down. He misses the chance to have true friends.

– An alcoholic refuses to accept that his drinking is out of control. He misses out on his family, friends, career, and finances.

Isn’t it ridiculous when I refuse to let God take my lollipop, because I think He doesn’t have something better for me?!? God has always cared more about me than I have for myself. As long as I fill my hands with my insignificant, fickle infatuations, God will not fill them with His much richer blessings. Allow God to remove the things from your life that are keeping you from experiencing all that He has for you.

Only by trusting God to remove the comfortable and familiar do we have the chance to see how much better of a provider He is to us than we are to ourselves.

“‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘thoughts of good, and not evil. Of hope and a future.'” Jeremiah 29:11

“So that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7

Blessings,

John