All are quite wild are they not? As God has been leading me on this wild adventure I call my wild goose chase, I am reminded of the wildness of our God and His desire to empower us with His wildness. He can’t be tamed or held back! By nature, He is Wild at Heart and gives us this same heart when we experience new life in Christ.
The key, I find, to experiencing the wildness of God is in our hearts. This means we must get in touch with what is going on in our hearts, both good and bad. The Apostle Paul said it best in his letter to the Romans in chapter 7…..
18 I know there is nothing good in my sinful nature. I want to do what is good, but I can’t. 19 I don’t do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do. 20 I do what I don’t want to do. But I am not really the one who is doing it. It is sin living in me.
21 Here is the law I find working in me. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 Deep inside me I find joy in God’s law. 23 But I see another law working in the parts of my body. It fights against the law of my mind. It makes me a prisoner of the law of sin. That law controls the parts of my body.
24 What a terrible failure I am! Who will save me from this sin that brings death to my body? 25 I give thanks to God. He will do it through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The key to victory over this “old man” is the abiding in Christ. “for without Him we can do no good thing”.
Back to the wildness of God… I think of John the Baptist. Now, there was one wild dude! When we live lives of abandonment, whether to sin or to God, we can’t help but be wild! Wild to God = reflect the glory and wildness of our creator. Wild to sin = reflect the depravity of man. Remember, there is no in between with God. We are either hot or cold. Praise be to Him who is faithful and ever loving and patient with our “wanderings” between the two.
I don’t know about you, but I want to burst with the wildness of my Lord! Overflow with passion for what He puts in my heart. Chase lions!
So, I must share with you my newest trip with the goose and the lion. After I picked up my boarding passes I began walking toward the gate at the Charleston airport. Lo and behold, I run into one of my pastors (one of the sons of our lead pastor from Colorado). I had sent him a link to this blog and he told me he has been reading. Note: a shout out to Josh!
Well, after that encounter I went to my gate. At the gate I meet a great guy, Chris who attends East Cooper Baptist. We connect as only two Christ followers can. What started the conversation was that I overheard him talking about Colorado on his cell. Once he got off the call I told him I was on my way to CO. Turns out he was planning an elk hunting trip for November. I proceed to briefly share with him my story. He gets excited and wants to stay in touch. He left a voice mail on my cell encouraging me and saying he will pray for me. Wow! and I haven’t even left the swamp yet!
On my flight to Atlanta I sit next to Charles, a financial planner for a local bank. Note: I was working in VA for my friend who has a financial planning business. Well it turns out Charles went to University of Colorado in Boulder for grad school. I’m telling you! You can’t make this stuff up!
I am laughing inside at the wildness of my God! Hold on… it gets even better! On my flight to Denver I sit next to Matt from Birmingham, AL. Well, really from Jacksonville, FL- where Tim grew up!. Turns out He is a great Christian guy who has read many of the same books I have, especially ones by John Eldredge. Wow, did we connect! I have never had 3 hour flight that went by so fast. We fellowshiped intensely for the whole trip. He was so encouraged by my story and told me that God had given more promptings than he had ever heard before. I agreed that God has been so patient and gracious with me as I have been, at times, slow to leap forward in faith.
We ended up going downtown and breaking bread and continued our fellowship. Thanks Matt! I look forward to our new and growing friendship!
Needless to say, I am excited about what God is up to. My friend in VA wrote a recommendation letter to Tim Tebow and his wonderful executive assistant sent it to Tim’s agent today. Please pray for favor and the Lord to open the door while I am here.
Thanks to those who have left comments on this blog. I greatly appreciate each one and want to encourage you to get involved in what I am writing about if the Spirit prompts you. The Lord Bless you and keep you.. Jon
PS. Going to an open practice for the Broncos today!
