Post-Passion Processing (Part 2)

If I haven’t confused you enough by starting this discussion of Passion ’07 with a post that really said very little about the formal content of the conference, I’m going to try to throw things off just a little bit more and jump straight into Wednesday afternoon, the third day of the conference. As with most four-day conferences, Passion attendees have the option of going to various breakout sessions in the afternoons of each day. On Wednesday afternoon, I decided to attend a breakout entitled “Undistracted Devotion” by a very godly and passionate man named Ben Stuart from Texas A&M. The topic of this particular breakout session was taking full advantage of the opportunities offered to a single person in the single years of his or her life.

Ben Stuart proposed that the reason most people become frustrated with their singleness is because they are doing it wrong. That’s right; we are not being single correctly. There will never be another season of our lives in which we are so free from obligation and responsibility; there will never be another season of our lives in which we have so much free time. And what do we do with these gifts from God that come with our singleness? Typically, and problematically, we do nothing at all.

What would it look like if we really made the most of these years? Would we dive into God’s Word with an intense hunger, seeking to grow and strengthen our roots in Him? Would we begin to invest heavily in those younger than us? Would we be willing to up and leave if God were to call us somewhere? Without the distraction of things like family, we can more fully “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). Paul writes in I Corinthians 7, “One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided.”

He said some other great things too, but that was enough for me. After this breakout, God began to pound some thoughts into my head that only grew stronger after Passion ended and as I began to seek God’s will for this next season of my life. I asked myself the question: How can I best focus on God this semester? The answer is something I am not completely sure of yet, and even now I am in prayer for the exact direction my life is going to take. But in my zealous endeavor to grow in my faith and place God at the forefront of my life, I’ve taken the first step and made a decision that I do firmly believe is God’s will for this next season of my life: I won’t be attending school this semester.

This is not something I have decided on my own, but something I have sought counsel about and most importantly, prayed about. Though it may seem like a sudden and rash decision at first glance, I am trusting that God is leading me in this. So… why? Well, the short is answer is because I believe that there’s something more important than school, and it’s the truth that the Savior of the world wants to cultivate a relationship with me, and that’s simply mind-blowing. More? Well, I mentioned in my previous post how the past several months of my life have been volatile at best, and until Passion ’07 this week, I’ve been standing somewhere inbetween the solid rock and the sinking sand. But my experience at Passion ’07 isn’t going to keep me on the rock. I am taking this sabbatical from school because I believe God is calling me to a season of undistracted devotion to Him. I want to get my life back, and the way to do that is to give it wholly to Him. Couldn’t I do that while going to school also? Maybe, but all I’m saying is that I believe this is what God wants for me right now. Taking a semester off of school isn’t going to ruin my life plans, and it certainly isn’t a wrench in God’s plans, but it may very well prove to be a defining season of my life as I wholeheartedly attempt to pursue God and His continued will for me.

So what am I going to do? I don’t know yet. God knows. I don’t. That’s enough. I appreciate your prayers as I seek His very specific will in this matter. I’m open to thoughts; I believe He is a God who speaks and who can and does use His people to convey His will to His other people.

Sorry to everyone whom I have not had a chance to speak with personally about this. I wish I could have talked with each of you directly, but God has been working quickly and I’m just following as best I can. If you want to talk, send me an e-mail, give me a phone call, talk to me on instant messenger, poke me on Facebook, or just come knocking at my door. I want to hear from you.