Faith | Hope | Love

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

We are about two weeks off of, we just got back from, a trip to Guatemala where we took 13 of our members down to see the work that our church is doing there in Central America. It was a fantastic trip and for those of you who don’t know, we partnered with Manna worldwide to go into that incredibly poor, depressed area and start feeding centers and orphanages, medical clinics, and churches. We don’t think these two things are separate; blessing people physically and blessing them spiritually. We started in a place called El Arado, Guatemala. Saw a great church built, that church is thriving! Hundreds of people coming every week, people getting saved every week, kids being fed every week, the whole climate of the thing is changing.

Our most recent project, we’re continuing to support El Arado, but we found a church in a place called San Lucas where they had built the first story of a new building, started the second story, and ran out of funds. Basically you had a church with 100+ coming, with kids getting fed and all that going well, but you had a second story that every time it would rain, it would gather water on that roof, seep into the building, mold issues, all of that. So our church said, all of you who designate money on a weekly basis said “we can’t let that happen, we got to do something.” Our church determined to help build that second story and that was a lot of the focus on our trip to Guatemala this time.

This morning I wanted you to hear from a couple of them. First of all, Josh Moody come on up and tell us a little bit about your experience on this trip.

[JOSH MOODY]

So Brandon told us to come up with a couple of things that had impacted us on the trip.  First of all was just the beauty of God’s creation.  Being able to see a different place and just good old flat Texas, right?  The gorgeous green mountains, volcanos actively going off, being able to visit the coast where they have a volcanic sand beach which looks like west Texas blacktop but still feels like regular sand.  That was totally incredible but the thing that impacted me the most was seeing the most beautiful characteristic of the Gospel at work: that was hope in hopeless situations. We went to the dump, we pulled in and as soon as you opened that door you are hit with the foulest odor. Some of the most intense, depressing scenes that you could see going on; the look of hopelessness in some of the faces that you see as you walk those couple of blocks into where we got to go to a feeding center that was there in the dump. Really hits you right in the gut.

As we made a couple of house visits we watched a couple of beautiful ladies who were living there in the dump raising their families without father figures for their kids absolutely break down into tears. To see that hopelessness leave their eyes and the hope of the gospel, as we shared it with them, and they accepted Christ as their Savior there in those homes, really just all of the sudden all those smells, all of those sights, all of those sounds meant nothing. It was no longer a hopeless cause. What we would normally see as something where they’ve got no chance, it’s completely hopeless, we would write it off, normally our human element would say those people don’t have a chance but they do have a chance when they have the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what you are doing by giving, what you are doing by helping to send us to go, and you going yourself (some of you have gone before us, this was my first time, definitely won’t be my last) you are making a lasting impact for the kingdom of God by giving every week, by sending others. We’re doing a great thing down there and you can see pictures, you can see videos all day long but nothing replaces the experience of going and having your senses touched. By smelling the smells, seeing the sights, physically touching the people getting to play with the kids there in the orphanage. It will totally, radically change your life and how you view what the gospel can mean not only in your life but in the lives of others who need to know him. And that’s what impacted me.

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Thank you Josh. As Jaye comes and Jaye’s going to say a word here in just a minute, but I wanted to tell you for Josh this was a real moment because the last mission trip Josh took a number of years ago to South America, Ecuador, he had a blood clot on one of those flights that came within just an inch of taking his life. And so to go on another mission trip, to go down there, I know had to be incredibly daunting for him but he felt moved by God to do it and got on that plane and went. And I thank the Lord we saw such great stuff from Josh during that week and by the way we both rode horses to the top of an active volcano (Josh says they’re not horses anymore) one was named Glue Stick and the other was named hammock and they had some real struggles getting us to the top of that mountain but they made it.

[JAYE BRIGGS]

Well I’ve never been good at telling the short version of any story so I wrote it down to keep me on track. This trip was an eye opening blessing and made a profound impact on my heart. I was not prepared for the contrast of emotions and experiences. There was beauty and brokenness, happiness and hopelessness, resilience and restoration, and gratitude and grace. Nor was I prepared for the magnitude of the need both physically and spiritually. According the CIA Fact Book more than half of the total population lives in poverty or extreme poverty, and nearly half of the children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, which is one of the highest rates in the world. Despite this the children at the feeding centers and the orphanage are some of the sweetest children you will ever meet. Spiritually, I’ve never experienced a more palatable need for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was especially magnified at the dump. I sensed a real spiritual battle to disrupt the witnessing from distracting teenagers, loud music, to the real feeling of an elephant standing on my chest. But the highlight of my trip was meeting Viviana Grande the young lady who’s made such an impact on my daughter as well as many of you. She’s such a sweet girl who’s returning to others what she received. The delicious cake she made for us and her detailed retelling of the first time she met those from Calvary Baptist melted my heart. Calvin said faith alone saves but a faith that saves is never alone. And I end with these two verses that were brought to life by this trip, James 2:15-16 “If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day and one of you should say to them “Go in peace; keep warm, eat well”, but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what does that benefit?”

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Amen, give Jaye a big hand if you would. Watch this.

August 2017 Guatemala Trip Footage begins at 9:36

Thank you to our worship pastor Brandon who put together that entire video but he also coordinated this trip and did a magnificent job. We had two go with us this time, two students from our youth ministry, that I was very excited about them going. I was just in awe and I’ll tell you why in a minute, I want them to come up; Jenny Conway and Tevyn Cook.

[TEVYN COOK]

So as most of you know this was my first mission trip that I ever went on, my very first time out of the country alone, without my mom. So as you can imagine I was kind of nervous and so was she. Honestly, I never knew what to expect, but I knew that God was going to work through me; but I didn’t know how well, or how hard, he was going to work in me. I went through a major change on that trip. I learned just how fortunate I was, and how selfish I was. I had no option but to humble myself. I just couldn’t handle it at one point and I almost lost it. For anybody that hasn’t been on a mission trip, I 100% suggest that you try one especially with our church. You’ll be so encouraged, so comfortable, and you’ll love it to death. It’ll change you for the better.

[JENNIFER CONWAY]

Well, like Tevyn said this was also my first mission trip and for those of you who don’t know I was born and raised in Brazil, and I lived 15 years of my life there.  I wasn’t really expecting anything because I lived my entire life in a third world country.  was just like “Its going to be the same thing.” I was expecting the same emotions and the same feeling that I had whenever I helped out in Brazil. Then I got there and I was like “this is different because I’m not here just to give someone food or to help someone out. I’m here because I am giving them something a lot more than temporary. This is going to be forever in their lives” and it ws just an amazing experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to go with. I just loved every second I was there. I know you guys already heard a lot about the dump, but once you get there you feel all kinds of emotions. You feel scared because you don’t know what’s coming next, you don’t know what’s behind those doors, you don’t know what they want to do. You feel mad and you feel angry because people are there and they don’t have anything. They live in the trash, they feel like trash, so that’s what they’re told; that they are trash.  You just feel angry that you have so much and they have so little, but at the same time you feel so thankful because you know God allowed me to be here today and give them a better gift than just food for a week. He gave me the option to be here and show them how good He is. That’s what this whole trip was about and I’m just really thankful to be there. For all of you guys who support Guatemala just keep doing it because it’s an amazing place!

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Thank y’all very much. Adam Brewter is going to come talk to us. I tell ya with those two we really never saw them on that trip as teenagers, because they were just part of the team.Tthey worked like everybody else, gave the gospel like everybody else, and it was a real privilege to have them. Another gentlemen here who’s pretty new to Calvary and great to have on this trip, Adam Brewter.

[ADAM BRUDER]

Thank you. I kinda didn’t think I’d be here. Not because I don’t particularly enjoy public speaking but similar to Josh Moody, last summer I went on a trip and became pretty ill afterwards. So even before the trip I felt the Lord really working through Josh and Brandon, and just the convicting word from them to get out of the boat on behalf of the gospel. I felt the need to respond and kind of wasn’t sure what to expect. Why was the Lord working? Why was he putting this pressure on me to go down? I’ve kind of discovered I’m a tactile learner, I’m a visual... I have to go see it, feel it and getting out in that dump just where the smell is kind of like you are in the garbage truck, there’s this dust blowing in the wind that is getting all over you, and even beyond that the way the children were kind of treating one another. I mean little boys here in America kind of fight with one another, they kind of pick on one another, kind of tease one another, but these kids were hitting one another just out of violence; out of anger. I mean the atmosphere there was something totally different than I had ever experienced.  They’re just throwing rocks at one another; just the violence.

The lord kind of brought a couple of scriptures to mind Isiah 64:6 All of us have become unclean ; all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Thinking of that it’s like “here I am trying to do this righteous act and it’s really just filthiness before god.” It’s kind of that same environment we were in, its kind of the feeling that came to mind.  When we turn to the new testament we see something a little different Romans 3:21-22 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. That was really challenging because here in America we have so much. We’re all clean here in this building, we’ve all showered within the last 24 hours probably, and you go down there and you see the physical filthiness, but to realize that we’re all just sinners; it’s only Christ Jesus that makes a difference!  To really see that in action down there, with some people accepting Christ, was a beautiful thing. It’s a beautiful country made some beautiful friendships!

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

I want to ask our ushers to come down this morning A little different service today than our normal worship hours but I wanted you to get to hear from this team. If you’ve not been on one of these trips yet and your physically able to go... maybe you’ve got some trepidation about it like some of these folks did... but I would encourage you take that step of faith. It will change your life and for those of you, who can’t go, man alive, we can pray, we can sponsor, we can give on a weekly basis.

When we first arrived, my friend’s organization was working with five families. They provided food once a month, work when the center had work to pay them for, and an after school place for the nine children to have a shower, meal, tutoring, bible study and a reprieve from the village. The women were sent home each week with strips of paper to make beads. They would come once a week to the center and have a bible study and string their beads into necklaces. Each woman was paid for the beads they made, which provided somewhat of a steady income for the family. The missionary couple that was leaving a couple months after we had arrived had befriended two teenager families in the Roma Village. The foundation did not want to leave those two families without someone to be there for them when the other couple left. We were asked then to create and expand the teenage family ministry. We started with five teenage families and ended with seven. Our youngest mom had just turned 13 and our oldest mom was 19 turning 20. In the Roma culture girls “marry” between the ages of 9 and 12 and start having babies soon after. A girl can get “married” a few ways. She is sold by her father, raped by someone and then taken as his wife, or the few just claim they are together, have sex and are married. Out of our seven families only two were married legally. All the others just claimed marriage and were married in the eyes of their people.

Romania in general is a poorer country and the town where we lived in was out in the country. A good income for a Romanian was comparable to about $300 US dollars, and for the Roma it was much less.  Even though there’s tons of need everywhere, the difference is you can SEE the need everywhere in Romania where in the states you have to look for it more; it’s not as obvious here. Here in The States we pray for God to show us someone in need whereas in Romania we didn’t need to pray for it, it was just there. You couldn’t walk through town without seeing someone in need. Every day we had people knocking on our door or front gate asking for something, most of the time, it was food. Occasionally they needed shoes or diapers for the kids. We did provide food packets every month and child resources weekly for the families.

We held weekly bible studies, brought the moms and babies to the center to teach them to how to bathe their children and babies, they would come once a week for showers and baths, and provided them with diapers and formula if needed.  We provided food while in the hospital as well as monthly packages, started a morning center for the kiddos who were 18 months or older, in-home financial budgeting lessons and guidance, and jobs for the men when we had them. Eventually the girls started making the joy beads as well.  We saw God work in and through us continually while we were there. But we enjoyed seeing it when the families we served saw and experienced God. One week, Chris figured out how much a family would need to make and how many days they needed to work to pay their bills for the month. Then they prayed for the work to come. The Roma have a hard time finding jobs in Romania because nobody really wants to hire them. As the week went by, we didn’t see the husband of one of the families at all until the end of the week. When we ran into him and asked him where he was, he replied that he was working all week. Then Chris reminded him that they had just prayed for work and how God provided. He thought for a second and his face lit up, like a light bulb turned on. It was awesome to see him recognize God’s provision and how He answered his prayer.

We also became their advocates in the medical system; we would take them to doctors and be their voice.  With the conditions in which they lived in, there were a lot of medical needs, especially with the young children. We would help with their medications, but also help them with their medical care. The Roma did not receive the best medical care and sometimes don’t receive any medical care at all. We would intercede for the families on a continual basis. Sadly I think the only reason our families got treatment is because we were with them and we were Americans and would give them money to get help.

 The conditions of the hospitals over there are not the same standards as our hospitals here in the states. One of our young families was having their first child. They had her in the delivery room while strapped down on a metal table. As we waited in the waiting room with her family and her husband we found out that she was going to need to have a C-Section. At that point the family got really anxious and we didn’t really understand why. We were told that while a procedure may be routine in the States, it can be dangerous over there. We prayed and then we talked with the doctor. We realized that they were not going to give anesthesia and that we had to bribe the doctor so they would give her the proper medications. 

Chris and I were a shoulder, a reprieve, an ear, and a friend. We LOVE them and miss them greatly. The Roma people gave us a piece of their hearts, which in a culture like theirs means more than any monetary item we could give them.    

My time in Romania has changed my prayer life and how I relate to God and others; always being thankful for what have. The Roma have an expectation that because we are Americans we are rich.  Their thoughts are we have unlimited resources and we are to help them.   There are times we have been exhausted by helping the families and others in the Roma village because after we help meet a need they automatically bring you a list of more to do, demanding you do them too. This was routine throughout our entire time there. Half way through our time there I realized that I am no different with my relationship with God. I have frequently given my “request” to God and when he answers I usually give him another list. With this perspective I have learned to stop and say thank you and appreciate what God has given us. And when I do ask a request I do it with a grateful and cheerful heart.

God used Romania to instill an excitement for watching God work in others life’s; rejoice with others and shoulder each other’s burdens.  He also reminded us of His provision.  One of the many opportunities that I, Chris, had was working with each family individually – a financial bible study teaching Gods principles on finances and helping them each create a budget for their family. During the process of helping them budget, and teaching them how to manage their resources, I noticed that God always provides exactly what the families needed. Now, the families mismanaged their funds but it was a revelation to me and a couple of them that He always provided and He expects us to be good stewards regardless of what stage of life we are in or how much is given. It was also eye opening to the concept of how we are slaves to our debts (Proverbs 22:7).

In the Roma village the concept of debt is handled rather differently than in the states and while helping the families budget, I realized they spend most of their time working to pay off debt. For us, going from both of us having full-time salaries in the States to an income that changed from month to month was unstable.  The funny thing for me, Steph, though is that I was never concerned about the money coming in while we were in Romania. I knew God wanted us there and that He would provide. Different story in the States, I remember before moving constantly being worried over money with both of us working two full-time jobs.

We may not have the luxuries that we had in the states, like consistent power, a washing machine that holds more than 5 pieces of clothing, and an oven that is no bigger than an easy bake, BUT we had EVERYTHING we needed and more plus we were extremely grateful that He continued to provide each month. We are more grateful for what we have we have A LOT to be thankful for and we have learned the blessings of complete reliance on God.

Our previous church was really big on community. We had been with our same group, before we left the states, for five years. We valued them we loved them. Going thousands of miles away where you know two people, only five speak the same language as you, your new “village” has no stoplights and only one stop sign, you have to drive 40 min for most everything was a huge culture shock, and that’s even before you get to the culture being a shock itself.  Our friends and family were now eight hours behind us time wise and trying to set up Skype or FaceTime dates presented its own challenges. All that to say we quickly realized how important community was/is to us and how isolating living in a strange country could be. Isn’t it wonderful that God knows us and he made us for biblical community? 

The church we attended in Romania was wonderful, three and a half hour long services may have taken us a bit to get use to but it was wonderful. The people were great and many spoke English. We were placed in a group with five other missionaries in the area! God gave us people who understood and were walking similar paths. We weren’t alone! One time we went to McDonalds after church (yes, they have McDonalds and yes, it is different) and we noticed there was a group of four Americans speaking English! We introduced ourselves and they told us they were missionaries as well. God did not leave us in isolation, but we had to take a step as well. It would have been easy to live “alone” physically, but spiritually and emotionally we needed each other. We cannot stress how important and valuable biblical community and fellowship is to us. We are so grateful to be at Calvary!

In the spring of 2003, Chris was taking his first missions classes in seminary.  After each class he would be so excited about a new place we could go. He was onboard for missions and eager to launch.  He was not held back that he was in his first year of seminary out of four total.  Looking back, I believe this is when God first started cultivating Chris’ heart for missions. Mine on the other hand took some time. I probably told him “you’re crazy” more than a few times. Missions didn’t really “fit in” with what I thought our plans for our family should look like. I have a good friend from high school who was a missions major.  She planned to go into full-time overseas missions. I thought, “That’s awesome for her” and truly did see her excelling in the field, but I still didn’t think missions were for me.  After college, my friend moved to Romania and that’s when we started to hear about the country from a more personal side.  We visited in the fall of 2004 and fell in love with the people, culture, and country. I believe God used this trip to plant the seeds of missions in my heart.  Chris and I were both still in school so it wasn’t time just yet.

When we visited Romania in 2004 to say it was eye opening would be an understatement. There’s something about actually seeing with your eyes, smelling with your nose (yes smelling), holding with your arms, and hearing the sounds around you. There were street children everywhere; begging for food, money, candy - anything to fill their stomachs or hand off to their parents. If they weren’t begging, they were winding between you pick-pocketing to see what surprises they could find. Children were everywhere. I vividly remember going to dinner at a Romanian pizza parlor (not really similar to our pizza). The restaurant was covered with huge windows and our group was seated right near one. Throughout our entire meal there was a little blond boy just staring at us. Literally staring; big eyes peering at us as we ate. It was heartbreaking and also a good food suppressant! That little one went to bed with a full pizza belly that night. There was a noticeable difference between the Romanian street children and the Roma (or Gypsy) children on the street. The Romanian kiddos would instantly pocket the money or eat the food you gave them or they “found.” The Roma children would immediately take whatever you handed them to an adult that was peering nearby. In 2004, children and babies who were abandoned were left in the hospital until they were three. As long as their parents came to “visit” them once a year they could not be “abandoned/orphaned” and their parents would still be entitled to the money the government gives the families until the child is three. After three they went into orphanages. I should mention that adoption to The States, Americans, was closed at this time. Romanian babies that were abandoned were quickly adopted by other Romanians.  Roma babies on the other hand were not. We were not allowed to enter an orphanage while we were there.

Being in a third world country can sometimes challenge what you thought you believed. The churches in Romania are much more charismatic then what you would find in most churches in America. Taking away money and niceties can strip people down to the bare. People see blessings so much easier than Americans tend to. God is all they have.  Romania’s national religion is Greek Orthodox; yes, it is a religion. While we were in the city we visited a few churches (buildings). These churches literally have gold all over them. They are beautiful! They have huge paintings, beautiful stained glass work, gardens, old beautiful wooden pews, the décor was amazing. We heard stories of people hiding in their homes as the priests were knocking on their doors, because the priests would make these visits and the members were required to pay them. The church in Romania appears to be all about money. They do not believe in helping the people, and were mostly looking after themselves. The church is stuck in much legalism and even more in traditions. The Roma had their own church, but again it was very much about money. The prosperity message was mostly taught from the pulpit. Which pew you sat in in church depended on your “sins” and if the pastor had deemed you forgiven or not. The ones in front were doing good, the ones in the back not so well. The cool thing is we met missionaries from all over, obviously a few from all over The States, but also from The Netherlands, Sweden and England. God IS working through His church- His people.

In 2005-06 my friend started a foundation in Romania, specifically working with the Roma.  She asked us to sit on the board and being board members gave us an inside look at what was going on with Romanian laws, politics, needs and culture.  

It wasn’t until September 2011 that God opened the doors for us to go back to Romania again.  By 2011, Romania had just started a “foster care” system. Back in 2007, Romania had become part of the European Union. One of the stipulations of the EU was for Romania to “clean up” the street children problem. We saw some children out but not nearly as many. The hospitals were “cleaning out” the children which meant dumping many of them at last known addresses they had for their families. Some even with people who happened to be living at the last known address and had no relation or idea who the child was. Those who didn’t get “dumped” or left and went into the foster care program and problems too. The main problem being Romanians (Eastern Europeans) do not think highly of the Roma. So these children were not being treated with the most love or respect that should be. We spent most of our time in the little village of Tinca where the ministry we were board members of was placed. We were able to spend a lot of time with the children of the center, their families and others in the Roma village.

Chris and I felt the NEED to do something; to listen and to act.  If we’re being completely honest, there was a HUGE fear of fundraising of that magnitude, which kept us from leaping sooner than we did. We would constantly talk about the people, and the need, and being there, but felt completely stuck. We were there for ten days and leaving was one of the hardest things we did. God had burdened both our hearts for the needs there and finally fundraising was starting to look not so hard.  Summer of 2011 was a season of much thought and prayer for us.  We were feeling a heavy burden for the needy but were not sure where God wanted us. We came up with two options: (1) move to West Dallas, share Jesus, and help in one of the poorest areas of our city or (2) move to Salt Lake where Chris had been offered a job in one of the heaviest populated Mormon areas. Taking the job in Salt Lake meant we would have to fundraise for his salary. Then, sitting on the plane in September of 2011 heading back to the States, God threw another idea in the mix.

This idea was the one that burdened our hearts for many years, but we never thought the doors would open; becoming missionaries to the Roma. We struggled a bit with “are we pushing God?”, “does He really want us there”, or “are we following our own hearts desires?” We prayed, asked our community to pray, and finally in December of 2011 we both felt at peace as we sent out our first round of fundraising letters with a date of leaving for Romania in January 2013 - almost nine years after our first visit and 11 years after Chris’ missions class! 

Fundraising is a full-time job. Chris and I both worked stressful full-time jobs where overtime was the norm. Yet, the money kept coming in. We would talk about Romania and someone would come up and hand us a $500 check or write to us and make a $10 monthly commitment. God basically did all the fundraising. For Chris and I this felt like confirmation from Him letting us know Romania was where He wanted us.

Chris and I left the States on January 3, 2013 and arrived in Budapest, Hungary on the 5^th. Budapest is the closest airport to Tinca, Romania; the place we would call home. We had arranged for a driver for the additional four to five hours it would take us to get there. Our first three months we lived in the team home, “Katartizo”, a six bedroom home that my friend’s ministry turned into a location teams could stay when they came on trips. In March, we moved into our permanent home which backed up to the Roma Village. Tinca, the “town” we lived in, was too small to be declared a town or city, it was a village. We had two main streets with one stop sign. We frequently walked from one side to the other several times a day, which was just at a mile. This was the norm for most villages in the area and the nearest “big” city was a drive of 45 minutes. In Tinca, the two main streets and right off of those were where the Romanians lived. Romania is still a country of segregation when it comes to the Roma. The Roma had their own section, which basically backed up to the Romanian part of the village.

Tinca had the biggest Roma population in our county. Roma, are nomadic by nature; they go where they can find food or money until they are kicked out or get bored and want to move on. As you drive through Romania, you see a few mud brick or falling down wooden shacks here and there. You see a lot of covered horse drawn carts as they are traveling, although not rare to see a Romanian in a horse and buggy too. What this means is for Tinca to have a Roma village of 3,000 was huge!  Plus, that’s only the 3,000 that were “documented”.  Tinca was also a village  human traffickers would frequent because a Gypsy gone missing is really not a big deal to them. The Roma village did not have running water, kitchens, or outhouses. Basically they were one room, falling down, critter infested huts. There was a constant stream of liquid running down the sides of the Roma dirt streets. In the winter as you walked in the Roma village you just kept telling yourself “it’s just mud, it’s just mud” knowing full well what you were stepping in. Between the Roma village and the livestock you can only imagine the smell; Romania’s distinct scent will forever be engraved in our noses. Our home, which mercifully did have indoor plumbing and a kitchen, backed up to the Roma Village. We walked in almost every night and spent time with our Roma families. We were also the first people they went to when they needed something.

In the next edition, we’ll share a more candid view of what daily life for the Roma looked like and how living out the Great Commission affected not just the Roma, but us as well.

Ready for Romania Missions Part 2 by Steph & Chris Watkins?  Click here!

Jonah 1:3-14 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

⁷And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” ¹⁰Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

¹¹Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. ¹²He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

¹³Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. ¹⁴Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.”

The journey away from God at first appears harmless on the outset. Jonah goes to the port, finds a ship going to Tarshish and pays the fare. It may have appeared way too easy, there just happened to be a ship and he just happened to have the money. It all seemed like the right thing to do for him. Which proves the point, when you really want to disobey the Lord there is always a way. You don’t have to look hard to find an alternative path to flee from the presence of the Lord.

But as I mentioned in an earlier post, if you choose to take that alternative path, there is a cost. The fare Jonah paid to get a ride was only the beginning of what he would have to pay for running from God.

The Bible says he was fast asleep in the ship. He was so distressed, rebellious, depressed, and freaked out that he had no interest in life and no energy to face his circumstances. You could say he was dying in his sleep trying to escape his troubles. The captain comes down to where he was sleeping through a crazy storm and shouts at him, “What are you doing, you sleeper!?”

Have you ever been so depressed like Jonah that all you want to do is sleep your problems away? Men and women who have spent time in jail or prison know this feeling very well. There are countless stories of inmates who were released after some time of being locked up whose sleep schedule is totally out of whack because they slept through most of their sentence. When they get a job, they struggle to make it on time because of their wrecked sleeping schedule. Depression, specifically brought on from rebellion, might begin as only a mental state, but it costs a person physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

And it all happens because God has wired you in a specific way. He has a plan for you, and when you choose to follow your own plan, it’s like a lion choosing to cage itself. The lion needs to hunt and roar. Those caged lions at the circus all look depressed because they’re not getting the adventure they’re wired for.

That’s exactly what happens to us when we try to do things our own way. Sure it looks a lot like freedom and it might even feel a lot like freedom. But only for a while. Soon you’ll slowly begin to realize you’ve put yourself in a cage and you’ll find yourself increasingly unsatisfied with the life you chose. That’s when depression sets in. But your stubborn sin nature will continue to fight it. Forcing you to run further and faster in search of something satisfying, not realizing that the only thing that can satisfy you is waiting just behind you with His arms wide open.

The personal cost of running from Christ is great and it’s not worth it. If you don’t want to take my word for it, you’ll find out soon enough the hard way. But you need to understand, it doesn’t just hurt you.

The storm of Jonah’s consequences brought trouble upon a lot of innocent people. The storm was so great that the most experienced sailors were terrified. Remember this…

When I was about 18 years old, I went on a mission trip to the desert lands of Utah to do some work at a ranch camp. On one of the days there we got to have a little fun on a horseback adventure. We were told to meet at the barn where the horses were, and they would help us get saddled up.

So once we were all saddled up we set off on our adventure, my friends all leading the way with me and my dusty steed, Billy, taking up the rear. The trail just took us around some rocky hills and through a couple fields. It was a pretty simple trail really. But Billy, the old horse, didn’t really like to follow in the line and he didn’t really want to listen to me. Instead he wanted to walk into the field and eat the wheat. Several times we were just walking along and he would lose his step and stumble just a little and my heart would jump into my throat. I was fully expecting this old boy to fall over on my leg and crush me and I would have to whisper my final words before I died in the dessert like a western movie. But he always caught his footing, and we kept moseying on behind everybody.

I also soon found out that this old, clumsy horse didn’t like other horses either. The reason we fell into the back of the line was because he didn’t like having another horse beside him. Once or twice we would end up beside the next horse and he would swing his head and try to bite the other horse. This made me fear for my life and start pleading with him to love his neighbor like he should.

Eventually we all wound up on top of a hill to catch an astounding view of the sunset. Sunsets in the desert are stunning to say the least. We all sat there gazing in wonder from the top of this tall hill. We could see far across the desert and watch the shadows growing. That’s when I realized… what goes up a hill must also go down a hill. Right then the tour guide, sitting on the precipice looks back at us and says, “Just lean back!” and he and his perfectly graceful horse plunged over the ledge.

One by one all of the others started slowly downhill, leaning as far back as they could, and their horses elegantly tiptoed down the hill. And then it was just me and Billy... “Billy, I know we’ve had our differences. But I ask, that just this time, you please follow the rest of them.” But Billy is old and Billy is clumsy. And Billy doesn’t like other horses. So with all of my faith in this horse, I lean back and he starts down the hill. All is going well. Billy is behaving like a true gentleman. Until the clumsy old man stumbled.

He quickly caught himself, but it sent us down the hill at a slightly quicker trot. It wasn’t long until we came up alongside the rider in front of us. Which Billy doesn’t approve of one bit. So Billy does what can only be expected from a grumpy, stubborn, clumsy horse. He starts bucking, kicking, and running down the hill full speed. Rocks are being kicked up in the air. We’re nearly beginning a land slide. We’re whizzing past all of the other riders. And all I can feel is my spine being whipped back and forth like a maraca.

No amount of pulling, tugging, or screaming would stop Billy. He was on a rampage. Over my own screaming and the laughing of all the others I hear the voice of the tour guide. “Pull back!!!” So for the sake of my own survival I pull back with all of my might on the reign and Billy slides to a halt at the bottom of the hill. Dust clouds swirling all around me. Knuckles white. Heart beating like a jungle war-drum. Prayers still echoing through the hills. And a justifiable anger in my heart towards Billy the grumpy horse. I didn’t talk to him the rest of the trip.

Billy basically made his own life miserable. He was unhappy and couldn’t get along with other horses. He refused to follow the path that was set before him. And every time he tried to take his own route, things got uncomfortable. But it wasn’t just Billy who suffered. The other horses suffered from his grumpiness and the rider most definitely suffered from his stubbornness.

Your rebellion doesn’t just affect you. Others are hurt when we try to forge our own trail. It happened with me and Billy. It happened with Jonah and the sailors. And it happens with you and those closest to you. So this is the final cost of running from God: The pain of sin and correction enter your life. Not only do you have to deal with the consequences but those around you, most often those who care for you the most, have to deal with the pain as well.

The good news is, there is a person who took the ultimate consequence of your sins so you could be restored to your Heavenly Father. Next month, we’ll examine the cure to running.