Good Things and Heart Desires

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4

Take a moment and look back at your life — have you always gotten everything you wished for? Perhaps you can recall a situation where you wanted something with everything in you, but you never obtained it. In hindsight, is that a good thing? Maybe you realized later that thing would have done more harm than good? I know there have been plenty of times in my life where I have “thought” I wanted something, but in reality, the Lord saw it best that He withhold it from me. Looking back, I don’t always agree with His decision; my flesh tells me that God kept a good thing from me, and I don’t like it.

“…no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” - Psalm 84:11

Buzz kill. Seems we as Christians don’t always live out what we preach, do we? I know I don’t. I’m stubborn and selfish, my flesh is wicked. I’m like the girl on Willy Wonka who turned into a blueberry. I want what I want, and I want it now. There are two parallels between these verses that bring me to a conclusion that revolutionizes my walk with Christ. They hit me between the eyes, and I pray they do the same to you.

Parallel #1

My responsibility is to delight myself in the Lord (37:4) and walk uprightly (84:11). Delight myself in Him? So, I think about Jesus while frolicking through a daisy field and giggling hysterically? The Hebrew text here implies self-discovered joy, happiness, and (figurative) delicacy. So literally, look for my joy and happiness in the very person of the Lord Jesus. This means NOT in money, success, possessions, fame, relationships, or other people. Some of you just got convicted, like I did! And second, walk uprightly. The Greek here for “walk uprightly” literally means without defect, or blameless. Me, without defect; blameless? Pft, fat chance! Oh but enter the beauty of the cross. Remember that cheesy Baptist hymn “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus”? Not so cheesy anymore. “What can wash away my sin, what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Oh how true those words ring in my heart — through the death of Jesus, I can be blameless before God.

Parallel #2

He will give me the desires of my heart, and He will not withhold any good thing from me. Yeah, that’s why I have a 1999 Trooper in the driveway with a busted fog light and a bent side-view mirror, right?! Somebody’s withholding something, because my desire looks more like a jet black ’67 Mustang with 500 horses under the hood. I joke, but I’ve honestly met people who think that way. If you think that tightening your sin belt and paying closer attention to your thoughts and deeds will land you a fatter paycheck or a better marriage, please allow me to tell you that you are sadly mistaken. Don’t you see? Parallel one is about our end of the deal - search for our happiness in God, and walk blamelessly. Parallel two is a double whammy: anything He doesn’t give us was never good, and when we search for our happiness in Him, HE BECOMES THE DESIRE OF OUR HEART. Light bulb. Josh’s paraphrase of Psalm 37:4, “make Me the desire of your heart and I’ll give you all you can handle and THEN some!” He never disappoints. Isn’t that simple logic? Now about those things in life you aren’t getting or never got — they aren’t good! Sure, they may be “good” things. A bigger paycheck or a slimmer body (or bigger muscles!) are “good” things, but who’s definition of good? Have you ever considered that the Creator of the universe simply knows you don’t need it, or that it isn’t His timing? If you find the Lord withholding something from you today, despair not! His timing is perfect. My encouragement to you today is to trust Him. Rest in His promise that He will NEVER withhold ANY good thing from you. Syncing our hearts with the Almighty is the key to joy, because He IS our joy.

Job Description

Several days ago, Serving His Children had a board meeting, which I was able to attend. As we're sitting around the planning table, I'm flipping through one of the meeting info packets. To my surprise, I find a piece of paper with my name at the top. It's my job description on paper, so I thought I'd share it with you. If I said I wasn't proud, I'd be lying.

• Communicate regularly with in-country director (Renee Bach, follow her blog by clicking here)
• Oversee all volunteer communications and training
• Oversee management of Summer Servant Program (Brett and McClain Baggett have this under control! Visit them at www.livinghislovetogether.com)
• Create and maintain ministry newsletter
• Attend training programs through other mission organizations for resources and sharing (uh, clutch!)
• Seek out promotional opportunities to raise awareness and funding (ideas, anyone?)
• Be available for speaking opportunities (because you all know I just hate public speaking ;) )
• Oversee business planning
• Write job descriptions and contracts for volunteers and staff (Don't worry, I make them look professional, and leave out smirky comments like those above)

Well, there you have it. If you call and I don't answer, now you know why! :) If you have questions or would like to be involved in any way, please contact me at josh@servinghischildren.org. We would love to have you on the team.

A Week in Review

It has been one week since I made my official decision to take the plunge into full-time missions. Many of you are supporting me financially, and even more of you are praying for me. I simply cannot express my gratitude to you all - I'm humbled you would sacrifice your time and finances to support me. As such, I want to keep you updated on what the Lord is doing because of you!

1) The very first day after returning from my support-raising trip to Bristol, I was able to attend a two-hour seminar on a software called "Constant Contact." Serving His Children will use it to reach out to our support network on a regular basis with creative and directional email marketing. I guess you could say I hit the ground running.

2) The next day, two young ladies flew in to begin a series of planning meetings for this summer's "Servant" program. Between Wednesday and Thursday, we accomplished over 12 hours of strategic planning. The planning continued even further into Friday, and we're well on our way to a successful summer outreach. (more about what's happening later)

3) Over the past seven days, I've been able to put more hours into working in ministry than I could usually put into a month. It's like I've been given my wings and set loose. I know that sounds corny, but it's so true. There's nothing like finding what you're passionate about and being set free to pursue it.

4) Due to lack of typical "job" restrictions, I was able to sit in a living room last night with Steve Saint and Gracia Burnham. Steve is the son of Nate Saint, one of five missionaries murdered by the Waodani in 1956 while trying to share the Gospel. Gracia spent over a year in captivity in a Muslim country, with her husband ultimately losing his life to the hand of persecution. Needless to say, it was some of the best hours of my life. Their stories and insights were invaluable encouragement to my life.

5) Because I now rely on people like you for my financial income, the Lord continues to grow my faith daily in ways I never imagined. I've never been more grateful for every meal and, in this economy, every gallon of gas!

6) Tomorrow I'll sit under the voice of Wes Stafford, president of Compassion International. After that, two meetings with some of my closest missionary friends who serve with A.B.W.E. Following those meetings, my afternoon will be filled with more planning with Serving His Children. Our strategic progress continues to press forward, all because of you.

I so look forward to writing again at the end of this week. It's "Missions Emphasis Week" here at Liberty, so the atmosphere is buzzing with missionaries and legends of our faith. If you'd like to keep up with me through email, please subscribe in the boxes to the left. To become a sponsor, please email me at jhamby@liberty.edu. Thanks for your support!

Priority Focus

Whether you're a top executive or a late-night stock boy, chances are at some point in your career, you've had to take orders and work for someone. Your goal is to complete a task assigned to you by a superior, and contribute to the company's mission by being a team player. This has become the norm and no one questions it - it's how things work. But imagine showing up to work one day and your boss tells you, "John, your responsibility is no longer to run those reports or stock these shelves. From now on, as soon as you get to work, report to my office. Your main objective in this company is now to get to know me. Forget everything you've been doing, all of that will work itself out. Your main concern is simply to discover who I am. I want to be your best friend." That changes things, doesn't it? It's completely unorthodox, and goes completely against American culture.

In a job interview last week, I was asked what my biggest weakness is. It certainly isn't the first time I've been asked that, as every potential employer seems to think it's an important piece of information to know. I've always thought it would be intriguing to know the array of answers they get to this question. Lately, one of my biggest weaknesses has been coming to light. I try to do the work of God without involving Him. I focus so heavily on the things which I think I have been called to that I often end up neglecting Christ completely. But, that's not a bad problem. Or is it? As a die-hard missionary, my focus is supposed to be on spreading the love of Christ, right? After all, that's what I've been "called" to do. Ask my fiancée, or my parents. I eat, sleep, and breathe missions. I can't get enough of it. It's my job.

This morning, as I prepared for "work", my boss called. He spoke quietly, yet very direct - right to my heart. His words pierced every level of my defenses, and His message was clear. "Stop trying so hard to serve Me, and just get to know Me." I couldn't argue. I came home and shut myself up in my room. I began to read Psalm 23, a passage I had committed to memory as an eleven year old AWANA student, and perhaps one of the most popular, well-known passages in all the Bible. The words lept off the page and wrapped around my heart, taking me by surprise. This dusty, stale passage came alive. In all it's glory, it captured my attention and drew me in. One read-through and my mind immediately brought up the memory file in a computer-like fashion. It must have been ten minutes later than I found myself repeating it, over and over.

I took a few moments to flip through my African Bible Commentary and read what some African scholars had to say about the passage. What an incredible reminder of it was of my state of helplessness as a sheep, and God's miraculous love to meet every need I'll ever have. His love for me was overwhelming in that moment. My heart was drawn to the verse that sets the tone for the lesson I learned this morning. In Mark 12, we find Jesus conversing with the Sadducees, when one man asks, "of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Here it is in our culture: "Boss, out of all of my job responsibilities, which one should I focus on most?" The answer is nothing short of beautiful. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength." "Get to know ME!"

I have been called to mission work, and have, in recent days, had the incredible opportunity to make it my full-time focus. But my greatest instruction rings clear this morning. Above all else, my top priority is getting to know my Creator. Romans 12 says that if I do not conform to the patterns of this world, but allow myself to be transformed by Christ, I will know God's good, pleasing, and perfect will for my life.

I thank God for my reality check this morning. What about you? Have your priorities shifted? Where is your focus? Feel free to leave it in a comment below. I'd love to hear your heart.

A Dream Come True

I know, the title is pretty girly. I couldn't think of anything else, and I'm sort of giddy right now anyways, so let it be. I'm giddy from excitement, because that's what happens when I take a step of faith. And boy am I taking one! Allow me to explain...

About two months ago, I called two adult men that I look up to, and I knew would shoot straight with me. I told them I was miserable not being in full-time ministry, and I had to do something about it. I didn't know what, but I knew if I took another job that had nothing to do with missions, I would die. So I began to pray. At the time, I was unemployed with a wedding coming up in 6 months.

Fast forward to last Monday. Wedding is 4 months away, and still no income. I get a job interview for a 45hr/week position doing data entry. Can we say boring? Anyways, I go, and they say they will call me back by Friday. Two days after the interview, one of my favorite ministries calls. After meeting with them for a few hours, they want to bring me on as a staff member. WHAT?! Um, check! Only catch? I have to raise my own support. No big deal, right?

Well, right... I think. Right now it is Monday evening, five days after the offer from the ministry. So far, I've raised $600/month in support for the next five months. Scratch that, God has. And remember that job I was offered doing data entry? I'm going to turn it down. That's right - I'm taking a leap of faith (4 months before marriage!) and going into full-time ministry. YEAYA!

You know what I've learned so far? I trust a job more than I trust God. And I'd be willing to bet some of you are in the boat with me. "God, if I take this job, I'll have a steady, reliable income. But if I don't, I'm going to be relying completely on You, and that scares me." Does anyone see the theological tragedy I finally awoke to? I've got some serious praying to do!

(I know, this post has been somewhat of a verbal regurgitation. That's alright, I just had to get it out of my system. More details will ensue, I assure you!)

In American culture, money makes the world go round. I'm not asking you to quit your job or pass one up - my situation is obviously an exception. I am challenging you to search your heart, and see where you are banking your trust.

What about you? Is your financial security found in Christ or your job?

World, meet Southern Sudan

It's hard for me to imagine the excitement that surrounds the birth of a child. It's a big deal - the family comes in from out of town, close friends gather in the waiting room, and the husband is well, in over his head! (My deepest respect goes out to the women for bearing the pain of childbirth - I'll take the hateful looks and screams any day.)

What fascinates me the most about this process is how miraculous it actually is. I'm floored when I think of the processes that must happen for the successful birth of a human being. Months (sometimes years!) of planning, midnight trips to Walmart for random food items to satisfy cravings, and (joyful) suffering lead to those moments of sheer joy. I can't wait to hear my own child cry for the first time.

Newborns are worth announcing. It means a new beginning, a clean slate. Over the past several months, my heart has grown to love the people of Sudan. Their plight and suffering has drawn world-wide attention since the 60s. The world has followed their story through news outlets covering the Darfur genocide. Labor pains have been long, and have cost the people of Southern Sudan almost 4 million lives. Morning sickness is long gone, and the labor is almost over. We're about to witness the birth of an entire country.

News reports are already announcing the staggering statistics - over 99% of southern Sudanese people voted to separate from the Islamic north. If you're unfamiliar with the situation, you can read more here. That's overwhelming! Although the "official" results have yet to be released, it is kind of obvious, don't you think? The world is about to announce it's newest country, and the people of southern Sudan couldn't be happier.

Want additional information on current happenings in Sudan? Click here. This is the birth of their country. I encourage you to join them in their celebration. Better yet, you will have a chance to help them build it.

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