So this afternoon I heard a pastor make a statement about the pursuit of knowledge. He said that we have a mandate as believers to pursue knowledge. He then went on to say that our obedience is not based on our understanding of knowledge, but our trust and faith should be in Him and what He has said to us - in spite of our understanding. Now before all the theologians take up arms, let me try to explain. If we were to only obey what we understand, we would accomplish nothing - or at best, very little. Should we live and obey based upon the nature of God, we will move mountains. We won't understand all things. But we can believe all things through believing in what we don't understand.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
So, if we base our obedience on our knowledge and our understanding of that knowledge, we may end up failing and may miss the purposes we were born for.
This has spoken loudly to me and my family. When we began the journey to establish His Kingdom through the arts, we did so with some practical, working knowledge of the arts and how to manage a theater, but not a lot of concrete answers as how to financially sustain this. We see in our minds what others have described as an "empire in the arts to affect societal transformation." Thats a mouthful, but boy is it sparking our imagination! Though we cannot see how we will receive the millions that are needed to secure a property - and, though we don't posses the knowledge of this, we obey without it. One day our faith will be known. Until that time, we believe without tangible evidence. Others may mock and criticize us for leaving a position at a school that had an immense amount of favor and opportunity only to exchange it for a dream of changing the society around us - without the resources necessary to accomplish the task. Those naysayers won't effect our outcomes. What will effect us in contrary ways will be our inability to see and believe what Father sees. We are called to trust what we know Father has spoken, even if we do not understand it. We won't wait to have the understanding before we embark on the journey. Look at the Scriptures and see how many were led. They gained understanding as they moved. They were healed as they moved.
Why am I blogging about this? Only one reason actually exists - it's for me, not you. I need to hear my words. I need to encourage myself from time to time. I need to declare this openly as an act of obedience. There are risks to taking this approach. I risk reputation as others watch this journey, knowing some are cheering us on and some are waiting for us to stumble. I risk alienating all that I hold dear as I submit myself to belief not facts. A pastor once told me "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." I can't take credit for that wisdom, but I do embrace it. So, self, take courage and walk.
What I cannot see cannot dictate my obedience. But, what I cannot see, though it sounds foolish, I will obey. I will see God's goodness in the land of the living. For my sake? Absolutely not, but for His sake and for the sake of young men and women looking for a means to accomplish great things for the Lord, Jesus Christ. I owe others that. My mandate is to impart the ways and means for believers to pursue their God-given talents and callings to expand the Kingdom of Grace. His name will be known and celebrated in the arts. His presence will be demonstrated from stages and auditoriums - on streets and in coliseums.
I will risk it all to see hear the words, "Well done." And, one thing I have learned in this "hallway of waiting" (the last three months) is the that the only thing that pleases Father is faith. The only thing. It won't be how much knowledge I have acquired. It won't be how well I have kept the rules. It won't be the tasks I have accomplished. It will be how much I dared to believe and obey in spite of the facts. I hope as you have read this that you, too, will join us - in your destiny. Dare to believe without full understanding. It's the Kingdom way!
Choose to love. Choose to believe. Choose to obey. Choose to risk. Choose to see what conventional knowledge says is foolish. The Dream is Big enough - therefore, the facts don't count. -Let the reader understand.
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