There is a song that has been captivating my heart over the past month. The song is called Fresh Fire by Housefires (Yes, Maverick City just released a version of it too). The bridge of the songs says:
So light a match
Let it go
Set ablaze
Uncontrolled
I want that fire
I want that fire
A few days ago, I was sitting on the dock of a lake house in Virginia. A few World Race friends and I have been living here for the past month. We were simply sitting in a space of prayer and worship, watching the sun set. As this part of the song came on, the Lord gave me an image:
The 8 of us were walking through a dark forest. To our left was this hiking path that was lit and easy to follow. To our right was a scary, dark, unlit, uncertain, unknown path. In our hands was a box of 6 matches. We started lighting the matches and walking further down this dark path. Each match would provide a glimpse of sight momentarily, before eventually fading out. After 3 matches we paused. We could either keep walking, having no idea where the path would lead. Or, we could use the 3 remaining matches to retrace our steps and make it back to the known, lit path.
Immediately, my mind went to a passage in 2 Kings 13. It is this passage that involves the prophet Elisha and a king named Jehoash. Elisha is on his death bed and the kingdom is being attacked on all 4 sides. Elisha starts telling Jehoash to do all of these weird things that don’t make a lot of sense. One of those things is that Elisha commands Jehoash to strike the ground with his arrows. Jehoash digs 3 arrows into the ground and stops. Elisha gets mad at Jehoash, tells him that he should have used all of his arrows, and says that they will lose the battle because of it.
But see, what Jehoash did made sense. Arrows aren’t meant to be shoved into the ground. They are meant to be shot at the enemy. It made sense for him to question this.
And that gets me to my point. Often God invites us into the complete unknown. He invites us to step through the uncertainty and fear of something that doesn’t necessarily make logical sense. And the question for us is will we say yes… simply for the sake of obedience. Is the reason of “Because God said so” enough of a reason for us to walk into that uncertainty?
Just like with lighting a match and walking by that light, The Lord doesn’t reveal His entire plan at once. He lights the path one step at a time.
So, what will you do with your remaining 3 matches when the Lord invites you into uncertainty? Will you keep walking deeper into that uncertainty? Will you trust Him? Or will you play it safe and walk back to what is easy and known?
I have seen this over and over in my own life. Specifically, I think about community. See, I was blessed with an incredible community throughout college and the first 2 years out of college. The next 3 years of my life looked wildly different. That community drifted apart. Some friends got married and changed seasons of life. Some friends moved. My church closed.
I prayed so many prayers for a new community, and the Lord put one right in front of me. However, I spent probably 6 months resisting it. The community didn’t look like I expected or wanted. The community that He invited me into was to quite literally give me a second family. My community over the past 3 years has been absolutely incredible. I was blessed to be able to do life with a mid-40s couple and their children. The community grew me and filled me beyond my wildest imagination. But I wasted so much time early on trying to recreate the community that I had before, rather than stepping into what God was inviting me into.
Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” This passage defines that season of life for me.
And now the Lord has invited me into yet another new season of community. He has surrounded me with a group of World Race friends that are HUNGRY for the Lord. A group of people that fight for truth. A group of people that don’t shy away from hard conversations. A group of people that choose joy and to make the best of all circumstances.
Just to give you an example: Our squad had training camp about a month ago. It rained non-stop for the first 3 days. We were camping. All of our stuff was SOAKING WET. There came a 2-hour time period where we couldn’t be inside because of COVID restrictions. We had a choice. Mope around in the rain, or make the best of it. We grabbed our tarp, found some dish soap, and created a slip-n-slide on the side of a hill. What could have been a pity party turned into an afternoon filled with joy and laughter.
These people have brought me into a deeper sense of freedom than I have ever experienced. I have wrestled for a long time with being seen as someone who is overly serious just because I am seen preaching on a stage. But these people have this amazing ability to draw me to a place that feels fully free to be my goofy, child-like self while also pushing depth.
Here is my point in all of this: Use all your matches. Keep walking down the uncertain, unknown path that the Lord puts in front of you. Embrace the adventure that He invites us all on. Don’t play it safe. Don’t stick to the easy, safe life that you can choose. He has SO much more for you than that!
