SO FAR…
Wow, how to put in words what I have experienced over the past 3 years, how my life has changed SO MUCH in such a short space of time, how significantly I have changed. To put it in simple words, my life has become so much more than it was before and better in every possible way. It’s so much more enriched. Rich in relationships, rich in peace and in joy, rich in purpose and assignment, and even rich in the natural, with THINGS. I have truly experienced God’s open hand in how He adds to me the things (the clothes, the food, the bicycle, any and all of the provision) and the desires of my heart as I seek Him first. When I reflect back on these last 3 years, my heart just wants to say thank you. Thank You, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit for being so mindful of me to save me from myself. What looked so good in the natural, making plans to go study, becoming a doctor, and playing hockey, would have stolen my joy, my purpose, my energy, my gifts, my calling, and ultimately relationships that He preordained for me to have. It would have totally destroyed me one day at a time. Why? Because it’s not God’s plan for my life. Only His plan gives hope and welfare, and only His plan is good. Something that has absolutely changed my life in coming to MiXchange, is God teaching me that the first question that you should ask is NOT, “What am I called to do?” BUT RATHER, “Who am I called to?” I’ve learned that He calls you to someone (Like Joshua to Moses, Ruth to Naomi, Elisha to Elijah, etc.) and a people. Apart from that someone and those people, it’s impossible to follow God’s plan for your life, but with that someone and those people you have EVERYTHING that you need, both spiritually, emotionally, and naturally. It’s just the way that He works. That’s possibly the biggest and most foundational Truth that He has revealed to me through this journey about following His plan for my life. Yes, it’s loving Him first, and loving His Word first, being a disciple which is the highest calling (to become like Jesus, a mature son of God) but you need someone to bring the Word to you. I need a messenger sent by God who hears from God and who brings the Word to me in order for me to follow His plan for my life. Therefore He plants you (Deuteronomy 12:5) with a spiritual leader who can equip you with the Word of God (Ephesians 4:11) to do your own work of ministry WITH your spiritual leader because a body has different parts with different purposes but has to work together to function properly. All of my eternal rewards are directly connected to me doing my part with my spiritual leader and the Body of believers where God has planted me. Just like a tree, I have to be deeply rooted in every message that God brings to me through His messenger, and by it, I am nourished to grow and bear fruit, with every message I get direction and correction to follow Jesus completely. I would say another big thing for me in my journey as a MiXchanger is that God isn’t interested in what I’m doing but rather in who I am becoming. He is not performance-based like I’ve been taught by the world system. He is not achievement based. He is not about what you put in, you get out. Performance is possibly one of the biggest things that God has had to help me with. In school, I performed a lot and I was good at competing and comparing, just to find out that none of that comes from God. Instead, He teaches that I have to put others first and think more highly of others, not myself. I’ve learned that faith is not a formula for success, it’s not about, “Let me speak the Word as much as I can so that I can get this result.” No, faith is a relationship with Jesus and with His words, it’s about loving Him and loving His words and as I speak His Word, the power is in the Word to change me and to change my world around me. The power is not in my performance but the power is in His promises. There is so much that I have already learned and that I’m still learning. I’m learning to put His Word first place in my life. It’s not rules or laws that I have to live by but it’s words of power and life that transform my life and liberates me as I live by them. As I do this more and more, my relationship with Him is getting better and sweeter, my relationships with others are getting stronger and sweeter, I find more and more purpose and identity in Him, and more and more His life and His light floods every area of my life, taking me higher and higher with Him. I am grateful for His love, for Him taking and saving me. I am grateful for my parents allowing Him to take me and for the spiritual Mom and Dad that He has given me. I am grateful for every relationship that He has given me each bringing joy to my life in their own unique way. Wow, people that I can have fun with, people that build me up and encourage me to go after Jesus more and more. I am grateful for all of the Word that He has imparted to me and everything that He has provided for me. I am grateful that He has shown me that there is a higher level of life to live, regardless of what’s happening in the world. I am grateful that as I exchange with Him, as I give Him something, He gives me SO MUCH MORE in return. All the glory belongs to Him. The only thing that He required of me was to say, “Yes.”