March Jottings Column

His Will versus our Wants

In my 8th grade English classroom we’ve been discussing purpose – challenging students to think beyond lunch or Friday night in order to consider how they can reach beyond themselves and serve others.

One of the teachers at our school, Karen Ware, and her husband, Chip, who works as a police officer for the GRPD, recently spent the day sharing their life story with our students. A few years ago, the Wares were living a comfortable life in the suburbs of Hudsonville. They had good jobs, a couple of kids, went to church every Sunday, and tried to be good, Christian people. As Chip explained, although he was happy, he also lived for the “next thing,” whether it was a golf game, a fishing trip, a vacation, or a new motorcycle. Then, one day during a game of touch football, he suffered a knee injury that landed him on his couch for several weeks and out of work for a year.

During this time, God suddenly had time to get the attention of this busy man. His thoughts returned to a few months earlier when his small group was approached about helping to fix up a run-down house in the Black Hills neighborhood in Grand Rapids. A Christian family was planning to move into the house with hopes of ministering in the neighborhood. Upon looking at the picture, Chip immediately recognized the house as one he had recently been in for a drug bust, and announced that his family would not be going into that neighborhood to serve. It was too dangerous and he was too busy. But now, lying on the couch, he became convicted of how much of his life had become about himself, and he promised that when he was able to walk on crutches, he’d head down to that neighborhood to help out, although he’d leave his wife and kids at home.

Chip kept his word and when he was able to get around, he began to volunteer in the Black Hills neighborhood. It didn’t take long for him to fall in love with these children who so longed for attention and for a stable adult presence in their lives. Most of these kids had rarely been out of their neighborhood, and suddenly Chip was busy giving them opportunities he had always taken for granted -- taking them to see Lake Michigan or to play a game of putt-putt golf. As he started to become more engaged in the neighborhood, he began to feel comfortable enough to take his wife and kids down to volunteer in the community as well.

As they spent more and more time in the Black Hills neighborhood, Chip and Karen became convicted again – this time beginning to feel that maybe volunteering wasn’t enough. They felt guilty spending their time with these people, and then leaving them behind to drive home to their safe, comfortable home in the suburbs. When Chip first mentioned the idea of moving to the neighborhood to his wife, the very thought made her feel sick to her stomach. Although the idea had also crossed her mind, she couldn’t imagine moving her daughters down to this neighborhood, a place where she couldn’t let them out of her yard, where they wouldn’t be able to ride their bikes freely down the road, and where they’d have to be in the house before dark. But, she began to pray that if this was what God wanted, He would start to change her heart.

Slowly, over the next few months, she found herself annoyed by things she never minded about her home before – the yard work seemed overwhelming and her house seemed too big and cluttered. One day, as they were leaving the Black Hills neighborhood after a day of volunteering, she drove past a house she had been eyeing, one that was for sale and that seemed to have some potential. She said to her daughters, “How would you feel about moving there?” Fully expecting to hear them protest or cry, they began to cheer excitedly. She kept praying – now knowing that she was only one in the family not prepared to make this move.

Soon after, the house sold. Karen describes a sinking feeling she felt in her stomach as she felt like she hadn’t listened; she had ignored God’s quiet voice, and now the opportunity had passed. Weeks later, while on a family vacation, she suddenly felt at peace with the prospect of moving to the Black Hills and as she prayed she told God, “I’m ready to move, but only if I can move into that house.” The Monday after vacation Chip called her from work and said, “Hey, guess what house is back up for sale?” On that Friday, they bought the house.

Today, the Wares are part of United in Christ Ministries, an organization in the community that reaches out through programs such as God’s Club (a weekly Bible club for children), tutoring, Bible studies, and more.

What struck me most about the Ware’s story is how Chip and Karen testified that living inside of God’s will has been more fulfilling than anything else they have experienced – even their comfortable and affluent life in Hudsonville. All of the things they used to fill their lives with, although not wrong or evil in themselves, failed to bring them the kind of contentedness they now feel. They described that although that step of faith felt big and scary at the time, it is nothing compared with how much peace and joy is felt on the other side of the mountain.

As I contemplated their words, I wondered how often I resist God’s will, scared of what is on the other side. Yet, the abundant life that God wants to give us is so much richer than anything we can create on our own. Stuff can’t bring us the joy that true servanthood and sacrifice can.

John Ortberg, in his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted writes, “The primary reason Jesus calls us to servanthood is not because other people need our service. It is because of what happens to us when we serve.”

We do not earn our salvation by doing good deeds – but our actions show that our commitment to God is real. Sacrifice of time, energy, and money is a verification of our faith in Christ. As James 2:17 says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action – is dead.”

As individuals, as families, and as a congregation – what things of this world are we holding too tightly? In what ways is God challenging us to change in order to truly be inside of his will? What comforts or traditions may we need to give up to truly serve those in our community? In what ways is God asking us to step out in faith and trust that his will is better than our wants?

Like the Wares, I pray that we can all wrestle with difficult questions in order that God will change us in ways we might only imagine.