Unmoored

If you have been a Christian for long enough, you will have noticed that God will often move you from place to place by first breaking the ties to where you are now, so that you can go to where you need to be.

It’s never an easy thing to go through, but it always results in a blessing. Often, an unintended blessing. So, as we see the skies darken around us, we should welcome those times when God breaks the bonds that keep us where we are, so that we can be where we need to be.

I just wish that the process wasn’t so painful.

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Unmoored

Unmoored – The ShockCast

YouTube Shortlink: https://youtu.be/TgOIzsU5fzw

MP3 Version:

http://omegashock.com/shockcast/2018/18-03-31-unmoored.mp3

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On Sunday, Mrs. Little and I became unmoored. Our church, here in Taipei, suffered a coup attempt by a group of wealthy men and women who took advantage of a temporary lack of leadership. Our wonderful pastor, for health reasons, had to retire at 87, and this group decided that they were the true authority of our church. They claimed that their authority was conferred upon them by the Taiwanese government, and therefore had the right to take over the church.

I’m still in shock over this. And, I can hardly believe it, which is why I’m sharing these awful details with you.

This event also cut our last tie with Taipei. And, this is what I mean by my use of the term, ‘unmoored’. We are no longer moored to our current location, and we have been feeling God’s tug in our lives pulling us away from where we are.

The only question is… Where do we go from here?

No, no, I will still be writing articles for Omega Shock, and I will continue to do The ShockCast. I can do that anywhere. So, maybe I should ask the question a bit differently.

WHICH ‘where’ should we go?

Our Ministry In Taiwan

When Mrs. Little and I came to Taiwan, we were searching for what God wanted us to do, and we very quickly got plugged into a ministry that did evangelism on college campuses, here in Taipei. There are more than 45 colleges and Universities operating in the Taipei area, and we were directly involved in four of them.

It was an incredible blessing. Lives were changed, for eternity, because of this ministry that we were a small part of. Of course, I quickly began having trouble juggling THIS ministry (Omega Shock) with THAT ministry. And eventually, we had to reduce our participation. But, up until last year, we still remained responsible for one college campus.

Ties Being Cut

Then, God showed us that we weren’t needed there, anymore. (Ouch.) Others were doing a good job at what we were also doing… maybe an even better job …and, we needed to step out of their way. So, we did.

I’ve been through this kind of process enough times that I started to see that God was getting us ready for a change. However, we still had our responsibility towards our church. We had responsibilities that could not be laid down without God telling us to do so.

Well, we got the message, on Sunday.

I’m still grieving over what has happened, and I pray that God doesn’t hold that against them. In fact, I pray that this is actually an opportunity for our English-speaking church to change direction and be more active in the lives of Chinese-speaking men and women. But, this is in God’s hands.

YOU Might Be Going Through This – Or, About To

One of the reasons why I write this, is because some of you are facing some of the same kinds of ‘unmoorings’. You’ve devoted your life to a certain place and a certain group of people. You’ve done your best to serve God where you are. And, now you need to move on.

I know this, because you told me – some of you, that is. And, if some tell me this, then I know that a lot more are in this struggle. For some of you, it’s your first time. For others, not. But, for all of us, it still hurts.

It feels like your heart has been ripped out and stomped flat. You feel mangled. You might even feel betrayed. And, if you aren’t going through that now, it’s coming.

We NEED To Go Through This

A great catastrophe is barreling down upon us. I’ve said that a lot, and I’ve been saying it for seven years. It’s still coming, and most of us will not survive it.

The question is whether you are in the right place, for the service that God wants you to perform, in the midst of what is about to happen. If you aren’t, then God will trim away at the ties that moor you to where you are, so that you can be directed to where you need to be.

My hope is that you are exactly where you need to be, that you do not need to go through what Mrs. Little and I are going through. But, I venture to say that most of you are not.

Are you in the place where God has called you to serve?

If you aren’t sure, then now is the time to pour out your heart to God, asking Him for direction. He will give it, but often in ways that you could never have predicted. Our lives in Taiwan are an example of a series of such miraculous events that I could never have predicted in a million years.

Giving Up Our Free Will

In fact, as I think about this, I should share something that I have started to ask God for. And, it is literally this pattern of prayer:

Lord, if I have any freewill at all, I give all of it to you – that Your will would direct my life, instead of my own.

As I have told many of our students over the years, I do not know how much freewill I actually have. And, I know that if I have any, it’s not very much. But, whatever freewill that I DO have, I freely give it to God.

In fact, I don’t want it. I do NOT want my freewill. I want God’s Will.

To put it another way, the first sacrifice that we all make, when we choose to follow Christ, is our own freewill. When you choose Jesus, you are choosing to give up your own direction for your life. You are choosing to have God direct you.

If you are a Christian, a true Christian, you have already made the decision to sacrifice what freewill that you have. I’m just putting that sacrifice into words. But, let’s get back to the main point.

Pray For The Unmoored

As you seek to follow God, there will be painful moments in time in which you will become ‘unmoored’. It will be awful. It will be confusing. You will even wonder at what just happened, and whether there is something wrong with you.

There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re are just being moved elsewhere, to serve God in the best way that you can.

There are no accidents for those who have submitted their lives to God. It’s just not possible. So, let’s embrace this process, as best as we can.

And, pray for those of us who are going through this.

 

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Read my book, Ezekiel’s Fire.

It’s free, and it may just save your life.

Here’s the website:

http://www.ezekielsfire.com/

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http://www.omegashock.com/ef/ezekielsfire-kindle.azw3

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I truly hope that you’ll be ready for this

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.Proverbs 22:3

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If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment on the website. Your input is truly welcome.

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