Every morning I wake up with a fresh passion in my soul to ignite and mobilize the Body of Christ: to see us healed, whole, and excited to be and do everything Christ intended for us when He won that victory on the Cross.
I have a fire in me to see others set free because I remember how lost I was when He found me, how insecure, fearful, inconsistent, and weak I was. Jesus specializes in making masterpieces out of messes, in bringing beauty out of ashes, and in writing stories we ourselves could have never dreamed up or imagined.
It’s not just salvation He’s offered us, though that would be enough. Eternity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is everything. What a future that awaits us! And yet, right here, right now, He’s offered us His presence, His power, and His promises. He’s walking through our days with us. He’s intimately near and delights in every detail of our lives. He leads us on the best pathway for our lives. He interrupts our plans to be miserable with a touch of His love and a gift from His hand. His kindness continually leads us to repentance. His Spirit faithfully leads us into divine encounters so that we can touch someone with our story and with His love.
Whatever we’ve experienced of God, there’s so much more of Him to know, encounter, and love. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. Imagine! He actually rewards those who earnestly seek after Him.
Recently on Middays, I spoke with Kim Meeder about her amazing book, Encountering Our Wild God: Ways to Experience His Untamable Presence Every Day. Kim writes:
“Who our God is and how He works cannot be captured or contained. He is unstoppable, unfathomable, and untamable. He is WILD. And He is beckoning us to pursue Him beyond our circumstances, beyond our emotions, and beyond our logic into the glorious mystery that is HIM.”
Kim first encountered this wild God when she was a young girl. A friend of her father’s unexpectedly picked up Kim and her sisters from school one day. Uneasiness twisted her insides. They rode in silence until dread gripped her throat. They soon arrived at their grandma’s house where they found many cars parked out front and lots of people inside the house wailing, weeping, and sobbing. Kim learned that their father had murdered their mother and then turned the gun on himself. Kim couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it. She ran out the back door and stumbled onto the ground and landed with her face in the dirt. It was at that moment that the Lord’s presence became tangible. He promised to redeem her story and that she would never be alone.
Kim is now a wild woman for Jesus! She’s influenced thousands with the hope of the gospel. She’s seen firsthand how untamable and unfathomable God is. She walks intimately with Him, and He has used her in miraculous ways. Kim now lives by this simple yet profound guideline: Pray. Listen. Do.
An African Pastor once said to Kim,
“The Holy Spirit is like a great and mighty river. You do not tell the river where to go…Instead, you jump into the river…and you go where He takes you.”
Are you willing to take the leap?
If it’s been a while since you’ve jumped in the river and followed God’s lead in your life, what are you waiting for? God wants to take you on a faith adventure that will change your life and the lives of those whom you’re appointed to touch. He’s not a respecter of persons! He’s a respecter of faith! Will you respond to Him?
Kim writes:
“God’s plan was never for us to observe Him from a safe distance, tucked away in a dry, comfortable place…He’s not looking for ‘spiritual tourists.’ …Not only does God want us to know about Him, but He desires for us to WANT to experience Him—to be soaked all the way through by His presence, to move so close to Him that we feel the vibration of His heart beating within our own.”
Jump in. Trust Him with your whole heart. Pray. Listen. And then do! Do what He asks of you! It’s impossible for Him to fail you. He wants you on this adventure with Him. People need your influence, your story, and your heart. Don’t let fear and apathy and spiritual laziness keep you from the best of what God has for you. Jump in!
Encounter our wild GodThere is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
Psalm 46:4
