Ran from God's calling - Running with God

Each of us are unique to God. He has created us and put us where we are for a specific duty, but if we let satan condemn us he will. Be aware that satan does have power in this world and can manipulate us all. He is smart but with God He has already been outwitted. I had to learn this soon and it is so AWESOME when God let’s you see why things happened the way they did… even if that answer comes over 19 years later.

As my first story on He Changed Me explained, I was saved at a young age and while I was in 8^th grade God called me to preach His Word. I still remember how excited I was to have that honor and responsibility from God. Yes, I was young but God used me and I still remember the first message He gave me (Romans 10:9-13). By the time 9^th grade came around my life started to take a turn in the wrong direction.

When I started attending High School, the word got out fast that I was a religious kid. I really have no idea how it got out as it did but I know Satan’s hands were in it. While in gym class one day we were beginning a game of baseball in front of the school. Every thing seemed to be great until I stepped up to bat. The other team started chanting “Come of John the Baptist show us what you and your God can do”.

This began to build a fire inside of me. The reason would become much clearer to me 19 years later, but at that time I was not taking it well. I began to say to me “Ok God lets do this, let’s show them and let me hit this ball out of the park”. Here came the pitch… I swung the bat as hard as I could… loud crack and short thumb… ground ball bouncing between first and second and I ran as fast as I could… then seeing the ball being thrown to first and afraid of being out I slid to first base. Even though I did not hit a home run I thought ha I am safe! Then laughter began to fill the air… I was confused and they all laughed and said “You don’t slide to first base! You can run over the base so there is no reason to slide. So the names continued.”

Later I had another chance to prove to them I could hit that home run. I walked up to the plate and lifted my bat and swung as hard as I could and CRACK… another ground ball to the left field. I ran as hard as I could and once I came to first base I simply ran over the base and turned to stand safely on the plate… but the other team laughed and tagged me with their glove and the teacher shouted OUT! I was totally confused… How am I OUT I argued and they said while laughing “You turned left after crossing first base which means you were going for second”. The names continued to be thrown at me and my anger was fuming!

I had one more opportunity during this game to prove them all wrong and along came the pitch… STRIKE… pitch two came… STRIKE… now I am getting worried… God what is going on here I said to myself… pitch three came and STRIKE THREE OUT! They all laughed at me and I was very upset and disappointed. I thought God why? Why did You let that happen? Later after that week my life began to change.

I wanted to fit into the crowd and not be laughed at so that was when I began to run from God’s calling in my life. I thought that if it is not cool for me to do God’s Work and if He is not listening to me then why not just find a way out of it. I mean there are others out there that can do that work for Him. That is exactly what I did too and I ran hard. I started to live a sinful life. Partying with my friends, and living my life for me. This went on for years after school and during the whole time I knew inside that I was living wrong. The guilt was very hard to handle but I did. Some times people would even crack jokes about church and it ate me up inside, but I clamped my mouth shut and drank some more. I thought to myself this is the life I chose now so I must stick with it. There is no going back. But that was not true…

Years down the road I started dating a lovely woman named Shawna who, little did I know, would become my wife in 2002. Neither of us was going to church and we both were living a pretty sinful life together. Still partied with our buds and thought we were enjoying life. However, I had acknowledged that she might not be saved and even though I was not living my life for God I knew I was saved… what should I do? I love her and want to share with her who God is… but look what I had done in the past and am still doing! I began to pray to God. Father I know that I have not lived right for all these years and I would LOVE to see my wife saved but her work hours do not permit for her to go too church with me, so I want to make this deal with You. If you get her schedule changed I will get her in church. Guess what… two weeks later her schedule changed and she did not have to work Sundays anymore, but I still kept my mouth shut about it until a couple months later. After finally giving in and trying to be obedient to God we went to church and went as much as we could. Then one Sunday my wife Shawna got saved and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior! I praised God for that day.

Two more years went by and my wife and I were still attending church. Then God started working inside of me. There was emptiness inside of me that I knew what not right. I began to pray to God for a while… God please I want to work for You but what is going on? I feel empty all of the sudden… and then He told me. Brian you still have work to do for Me. I have called you a long time ago to preach My Word and that is your calling but to do so you must inform the Church of what you did and how you ran. If I could not do that then I could not move forward. It was hard to humble myself to that but I did.

God has now been working in my life so much that I could not even put into words how AWESOME He is. It is now 2010 and this is the year God has told me its time to become who He wants me to be and I am totally willing no matter the cost. Last Sunday at church we did a drama called Card Board Testimonies. You write on one side what you use to do and then flip the board and tell how God has changed you and I knew mine was going to be “Ran from God’s calling… Running with God”.

Sunday morning I was awoken at 5:00 am and God blessed me with an AMAZING gift. He took me back to that moment in High School and showed me why I never hit that home run. First He showed me, you let them break you. They mocked my Son and He continued with My Work. You did go to the plate and say “Ok God lets do this, let’s show them and let me hit this ball out of the park”. But the problem there was you were not waiting upon Me. You swung and hit the ball, but I did not tell you to swing. Same on the second attempt and third. Another problem was you were not doing this to prove Me to them… you wanted to hit that home run to please them. Show them how good you was… not how good I Am. These have been forgiven but beware of pleasing any other beside Me (God).

I have now acknowledged that I still have that bat in my hand today. The difference is I have to wait till God tells me to swing. Sometimes I might find myself getting excited and upset and want to swing but I have to wait upon Him because I will only mess things up if I do them on my time. There will also be times that I might not want to swing but God will say swing and I must obey.

What a lesson learned and it is AWESOME that 19 years later God takes me back and shows me my faults to learn from. Thank You God for Your support, guidance and love.

I am proud and honored to say that I am running with God daily and will be for the rest of my life on this earth. Till I am taken home to be with my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and His Father God Almighty. God will continue to chisel this work in progress and may all things I do while I'm here be to glorify His Name!