4 Life Changing Lessons from the Last 4 Years

In October, we hit our 4 year completion mark on the mission field. It's crazy looking back - the feelings and emotions we had when we first left Colorado were so intense. It broke our hearts to leave our friends and family. And yet, just a mere 4 years later, we've experienced enough life to completely change our outlook and most things, and mold us into new people. Seeing that the last 4 years have been marked with personal growth, I want to dedicate this post to the things we've learned since moving onto the mission field. Поехали!

1) I'm Not Really That Wise

If we're honest, we all can probably remember moments in our lives when we really thought we were wise and mature, and then later looked back on the moment and realized, wow, I wasn't really that wise or mature! If I've learned anything over the last 4 years, it's that I'm really not that wise and I still have some growing up to do. The Lord has been teaching me that all good things come from Him, including wisdom and understanding. 

Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

Any wisdom that I have, any of my maturity, it all comes from the Lord. Whatever wisdom/maturity that I do have, it's not from my own efforts - they're gifts from the Lord. Especially over the last 4 years, I've learned that I am totally out of my depth with most things in my life, but as it's promised in James, the Lord gives wisdom liberally to those who ask, and He gives it without reproach. I've learned that in all things, it's best to think of myself with humility, not with pride, and to recognize that I desperately need daily wisdom from the Lord to know how to minister to others. 

2) The Bema Seat Is A Reality

Bible Prophecy Timeline by Charlie Campbell

A few years back, Byron and I bought Charlie Campbell's Apologetics Library (which we highly recommend). We were watching a DVD about the end times and the rapture, and Charlie Campbell described the Bema Seat. That I could remember, I had never heard of the Bema Seat before, so what Charlie Campbell said really hit me hard. 

I had always thought that once I was saved, I was exempt from any judgement. And it's true, I will not be subjected to the wrath of God. My sins have been removed and when death comes, or when the Lord comes back for His Church, I will get to spend eternity in the presence of God. But, all Believers will still stand before the Bema Seat, not to determine their salvation, but to judge their works. 

Our faith is dead without works (James), but the motivation behind our works is just as important as the works themselves. When I stand before the Bema Seat, God will judge me (and all other believers) according to our motivations behind our "works." And if we were ministering with pure motives as unto the Lord, we will be rewarded. But if we were serving out of bitterness, anger, pride, etc., those deeds that were motivated by impurity will burn away. 

Here's what the Bible says:

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has build on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

We will all stand before the Lord and give account for what we've done. In regards to the Bema Seat, I can pinpoint times in my life over the last 4 years when I know that I was serving myself more than the Lord, and I know some of the ministry I've done will burn away because I did it out of pride or bitterness. Of course, the Lord can still use that ministry, regardless of my shortcomings, but it's really sobering to know that ministry and service isn't enough - I need to be serving the Lord with a joyful heart. For me, it's the idea of being all in joyfully, or not being in at all. Give it my best as unto the Lord, or just don't do it. There is no middle ground - I can't just go through the motions. 

3) Jesus Is Coming Back Soon

This is an easy point to forget, especially being married. I am totally in love with Byron and super happy with my life here on earth. I love Calvary Chapel Zaporozhye, I have awesome friends and family, and I love the ministry the Lord lets us do. With all of that in mind, I often forget that Jesus is coming back, and maybe He'll even come back today! When Jesus' return isn't at the forefront of my mind, I forget to live life and do ministry with urgency. 

Here's the reality. Jesus is coming back. Judgment is coming. Hell is real. Heaven is real. And every day, I meet people who have never had an opportunity to hear about Jesus. It's not my job to make them Christians, but it is my responsibility to give them the choice. When I meet people, am I ministering with urgency? Is time, or the lack there of, always in my mind? Every conversation I have with someone could be the last one. That's the hard truth - life on earth is not eternal. Do I ministry with the kind of urgency that shows that I understand that?

I remember one time last year, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to bring a Gospel tract and a Bible with me while I was walking around Kiev doing errands. But my bag was already pretty full, and I ignored the prompting. As I was making my way around the city, I met a woman who was really interested in church and Jesus, but my poor language skills prevented me from being able to invite her to church and tell her about Jesus. If I had had that Russian Bible with me, we could have opened it together and she could have read different verses in Russian for herself. And I could have just handed her that Gospel tract so that she would have had all the info she needed to come to Jesus, if that's what she wanted. We parted ways and I never saw her again.

You might be thinking, Wow Emily, don't be so hard on yourself! And you're right. I'm not telling this story to condemn myself, but to make a point. Of course, God doesn't need me to save that woman. But because I didn't have urgency in my heart that one day, I wasn't able to share Jesus with that woman, and I missed out on something that could have been super awesome and encouraging.

"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

4) A Relationship With God Is Exactly That - A Relationship

Especially over the last year, I've been so busy, some days, it's hard to even find time to feed myself. And by the way, I know this is a problem, and it's something that Byron and I are actively seeking to change (by adjusting our schedule and delegating ministry demands). As demands on my life increase - both external and internal, I'm understanding more and more that just like any other relationship, a relationship with God needs work. 

How can I ask God to show me His daily will for my life and for ministry if I only pray once a week? To have a real relationship with God, I need to communicate with Him and hear from Him daily - through prayer and the Word. Sometimes, it's really hard to make this happen, but it needs to happen. My relationship with the Lord is more important than any other aspect of my life. And like other things, I get out of the relationship only what I'm putting into the relationship.

It's like trying to get in better physical shape. If you buy a gym membership, you don't become healthy. But if you go to the gym everyday, your body and your health will drastically change. If I go to the Lord with my needs or my praises every once in a while, nothing will drastically happen in my life. But if I go to Him daily, that's when I really hear from Him and will know how to move forward. 

I listened to a message from Pastor Dominic Dinger, and he was saying that "first thing's first." And that first thing needs to be our time with the Lord - before anything else, first thing's first. 

Over the last 4 years, the Lord has really been showing me the importance of a "first thing's first" relationship with Him. He has to come first. I have to go to Him first. I have to communicate with Him first, and often. 

What's the Lord been teaching you over the last 4 years? It's always a great idea to pause and reflect before entering a new year. Feel free to add your life lessons in the comments

section. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may we all grow closer to Him, casting off every weight so that we can run with endurance. 

Blessings,

Emily