Ready for "Incredible Things?"

Jesus was teaching in Matthew 10 about total humility, being willing to give everything for His glory. We read:
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

This is the attitude and the positioning that God commands us to take - we are taught in Scripture to humble ourselves, to be willing to lay down everything, to take up His cross, and to be His disciple. We can be challenged to develop that selfless spirit, laying down our desires, our personal goals, our selfish ambition, the preservation of our very lives, in order that God might be glorified.  If we empty ourselves and allow the Spirit to fill us, then we can experience the abundant life that God has in store for us.

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We can be challenged to be willing to give it all, to give our ourselves, for the One Who gave
everything for us. A picture of humility, even through suffering, is found in 1st Peter 4:
11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

It certainly had to be a joyous and anticipatory occasion, a group of young people from Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, AL, travelling to the Atlanta airport to board a plane to the nation of Botswana.  Some might call it the trip of a lifetime.

But, the bus on which the youth group was riding overturned, causing dozens of injuries and the death of 17-year-old Sarah Hermening, according to the AJC.com website, which states that the driver, a volunteer bus driver for the church, has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide.  He was also charged with "failure to maintain lane." He had been attempting to change lanes on Camp Creek Parkway, and collided with another vehicle, then swerved back left, entering the median, then flipping over another vehicle travelling in the other direction.

According to another AJC.com article, in her last journal entry prior to the trip, Sarah had written, "I was just reminded of why I’m here,” adding, “and that God called me here, and he’s done so for a reason. So I know he’s going to do incredible things.” The story said that Sarah's family had said at a news conference that she had been afraid to travel, but her "faith in God restored her confidence in going..."  Sarah's mom had "choked back tears" as she read that journal entry, which was later posted on Facebook.   She referred to 1st Peter 5 and 2nd Peter 1, writing about the devil roaring about and how she felt that would be happening on this trip; but, she also related about being alert and of sound mind, and "how we get to participate in the divine nature!"  The AJC story said that her grandmother told Channel 2 Action News that Sarah had graduated high school two weeks prior to the accident and had received a scholarship to Auburn.

Who knows how many people have been inspired by Sarah's final journal entry.  Even though Sarah is no longer on this earth, her legacy of faith lives on.

I think about someone else, a young person who lost her life during her high school years.  Her story is portrayed in the movie, I'm Not Ashamed.  Her name was Rachel Scott, and she lost her life in the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School.  Her mother, Beth Nimmo, wrote this for FoxNews.com:

Rachel left us a precious gift that was discovered after her death in her journals and writings. It was a journey of a Christian teen that loved the Lord but struggled every day to live out her faith among her peers. She wrote in brutal honesty about her failures, misgivings and insecurities of living in a world that mocked faith. The isolation of thinking that she was alone in her pursuit to be a light in a dark world and changing the world to one of starting a chain reaction of love and compassion.

Her writings were very prophetic to the point of leaving a drawing from that very morning of depicting 13 tears of one teacher and 12 students being killed on that fateful day. One day prior to the exact date of April 20th, in 1998 she wrote: “If I have to sacrifice everything to be with my best friend Jesus, I will -- I will take it.” One year later she kept that vow as she was mocked and challenged for her faith facing her shooters with a gun to her head.

Rachel, in a very real sense, saw her death coming.  Sarah did not, apparently, but was anticipating that God would do "incredible things."  I would dare say that those "incredible things" were redefined from what was expected.  So, God is using Sarah - and Rachel - even though they no longer reside on earth, to share about God's truth and His greatness.

Because God's ways are higher than our own.  That's a hard lesson to learn or grasp in the midst of tragedy, but we know that God will use the testimony of a person is ways we cannot clearly perceive.  God is using these tragedies for His glory

These two young ladies remind us how important it is for each person to be submitted to God's will. Despite the temptation to fear, we are called to be willing to give it all, to lay down our lives, for the glory of the name of Jesus, the One who was willing to lay down His life for us.  We can be inspired by God's Word to humble ourselves and allow Him to do those "incredible things" through us - those may not take the shape we may anticipate, but we recognize that He is in control and wants to use us completely for His honor.