Testing God at the Fork in the Road

It’s interesting how the Lord led me to this sermon. I was on the Brooklyn Tabernacle sermon site and saw Francis Chans name and realized I hadn’t listened to his sermons in forever. I hopped on over to his church’s site and then came across this title, Testing God at the Fork in the Road, which immediately caught my attention…. So here I am sharing a message I am so passionate about.

When I started Moms in the Making, I shared with the girls that the most important thing to me was that as individuals and as a group we pursued Christ more than we pursued our babies. I feel like this message is along those lines, but Todd Nighswonger said it 100 x better.

I’m going to get straight to the point: Do you want Christ likeness more than anything else?

What is it that you want? A husband, more money, a baby, a better reputation, new job, beauty, comfort, etc. Ask yourself this question: Would you rather have Christ likeness or (insert what you want here)?

If you are in a trial, what about asking yourself this question: Would you rather have (insert trial here) and look more like Jesus or not go through (insert trial here) at all?

It’s so easy to get caught up in a desire we have that it soon becomes an idol. It can be a certain diet with the desire to become more healthy, social media with a desire to become more known, trying every medical intervention with the desire to have a baby, etc. But, I think we are missing the mark when our desires become more important than Christ. Are you spending more time on what you want or spending more time getting out of the trial you are currently going through than spending time with the Lord?

How can we display Jesus to the world? When we grow to be more like Him, we display more of Him. That is why we are made in His image – so we can walk like Him, talk like Him, and interact like Him! He didn’t put us on this earth to bring us comfort, but He desires to mold us to be just like Him. The storms we go through are what refine us to be more like Him.

So what is it that you want today? What trial are you experiencing? Would you be willing to give your desire up if it meant that you were conformed to the image of Christ? It’s a tough question, but one worth asking. Who and what are you really living for?

We are fools for Christ,but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 1 Corinthians 4:10