Find Yourself Here

Do you ever see those California commercials? The ones promoting the state of California. Well at the end of the commercial they say, “find yourself here.” I was recently in California, LA specifically and although I was there for only a week I did find myself. I realized when I was there how busy it is there, how many people don’t know the true God and are not living for him. It truly made me sad to think of this and to see it. Although while I was there I saw small rays of light shining through the darkness. I did attend a small group while I was there at my uncles house. And I know that their are people there trying to live for Christ and make a difference, trying to be lights in the darkness. But the darkness certainly surrounds and engulfes the light. I had always wanted to live in a place like LA and do something out there, I wanted to be famous. But when I got there and realized this I knew right then that that’s not the path God intended for me.
He wants us to stay busy but to be busy doing things that honor him. I recently watched a NOOMA video entitled “Shells.” In this video Rob Bell talks about how Jesus is always on the move. He is constantly going from place to place. Everywhere he goes he is healing the sick and driving out demons. Yet there comes a time when he moves on to the next city, despite of all the people begging him to stay so he can continue healing and driving out demons. Jesus has the ability to say no to these people and to move on. Imagine how many more people he could have healed. Yet he does this, he is able to say no because he has already said yes to something else. He already said yes to Gods plan for him. You can’t say no until you have already said yes to something else. People are so busy in their lives that it seems like they never say no. They are always saying yes to something else but it is never the right thing. We need to say yes to Gods plan for us and then we will be able to say no. We will be able to say no because we will see the plan that is for us and take that path. As Rob Bell says, “we need to examine the rhythms of our life.” We need to stop saying yes to everything and start saying no, just as Jesus did, so that we can pursue a simple, disciplined focused life where we pursue the few things that God has in store for us. We need to be like Jesus and say no because we have already said YES to God.
When I saw how LA was actually like and how busy and far from God it is I put my own dreams aside and said Yes to God. I said no to that kind of lifestyle that I had thought that I wanted for so long. I came to realize that this isn’t what was meant for me. I mean sure I could still pursue that kind of life but I know that I wouldn’t be honoring God by doing it and what kind of life is that? A life apart from God isn’t a life at all but rather death. Live for the day but make sure that your days, and your life is for God. The only way that you can truly live is when you are living your life with God, in the light. His light. Do not live in the darkness that surrounds all of us but step out into the light. Everybody has a different role in life. I don't exactly know what mine is yet, God is slowly revealing it to me. I am starting to realize what I do want to do with my life and what I don't to do, or rather what I need to do. Now my uncle is in LA. He is an actor out there and that is his role, it may not be mine but it is his. I love what he does out there, he is happy with what he is doing and he has found the role that God intended for him, he and my aunt are trying to be a light the darkness. I will find mine eventually, after all I am only 19.