Do you ever feel like words fail you? Are there ever times when your heart feels so full or so empty that you just can’t communicate what is going on? Let me tell you what, I have felt like that so many times in the last couple months it’s almost getting to be my default setting. I can’t find the words to say what I desperately want to say. I feel like Jeremiah: “Ah Lord God, I cannot speak, for I am a child” (Jer. 1:6). Words cannot express the desire I have to burn out for God. I want His zeal to consume my soul and fill me with a bold, unashamed devotion and passion for Him.
This generation of young people can change the world. We really can. But we need to get a hold of the extreme nature of the Gospel. Jesus changed everything when He, as God, became a man. His death, resurrection, and ascension introduced something radical into the world. Not just regeneration to keep us out of hell, but a brand new person. Not just religion to study at church on Sundays, but a brand new purpose. Not just a relationship that we can enjoy for a few moments every morning, but a brand new power!
Oh! Where are the people who have a passion for God! A passion for our Lord and Savior that consumes every little part of us, burns up everything that isn’t righteous, and shines into the darkest of lives. Where are the examples of those who love God with all their hearts, unconcerned how others see them?
We often read of men and women of the past, who in their teens or early twenties devoted themselves to God and made bold decisions that cost them everything. Where are those people today? Stuck on our phones? Glued to the Internet? Pursuing purposes other than God’s? We enjoy the glimmers of light we see here and there, content with knowing about God rather than understanding Him.
God is not in all our thoughts. He is not our wonderful Lord, but our convenient deliverer whenever we realize we’re in real trouble. Oh, friends, we must walk with God, continually in His presence! To follow Him means to leave all remnants of the world behind (Mark 8:34-38). To serve Him means to abandon all other masters (Matt. 6:24; James 4:4). To love Him is to deem His commands more important than all others (John 14:15, 21, 23; I John 2:15-17), and to obey Him is better than any sacrifices one could ever make (I Sam. 15:22b; Prov. 21:3).
Lord, I want to be counted among the extreme,
The ones to whom You’re most real, it seems,
The ones who awaken before the grey dawn
To humbly approach You, Your name to wait on,
The ones who don’t care if it seems kind of strange
To make bold decisions that bring about change,
The ones who weep at the slightest of things,
Like Scripture, or sermons, or songs that we sing,
The ones who pray when it’s most inconvenient,
Who struggle with Satan and all of his demons,
The ones who raise up their hands to the sky
Or fall to the ground when Your Spirit comes by,
The ones who are joyful, filled with Your peace,
Who listen with interest to those who are least,
The ones with compassion, with free hands that reach
To the poor and the needy, and the lowest of these,
The ones who are most often misunderstood,
Accused and reviled, though they did what they could,
The ones who find God most important of all,
Who hear, and who listen, and obey when He calls,
The ones who have chosen to stand with the Lord
Seeking no gain, no worldly reward,
The ones whom God most highly esteems.
Lord, I want to be counted among the extreme!
Victoria White is a graduate of Baptist College of Ministry and a member of Falls Baptist Church in Menomonee Falls, WI. She has a burden for young people to understand the Bible and to live for God in this world. She has 6 siblings and lives in Germantown, WI.
