As much as I want it to be, life really isn’t about me in the slightest. I mean sure, I live it and interact in it; but it doesn’t revolve around me. My needs and wants aren’t always met or pursued, further proving that the world really doesn’t revolve around Tucker Stevens. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we all have to learn it eventually. The world only looks out for itself, chasing the things that it wants and needs to grow. It’s fueled by success and growth, and it will have it at any cost.
I used to think the Kingdom of God was the opposite of this, but it really isn’t. In the beginning stages of my faith, God was seen as a provider, the one that always came through for ME. I got to go on the World Race, I got to do all those things I did. This was the self-centered mindset and perception of the Kingdom I carried until a couple days ago, and I really don’t think I could have been more selfish. The truth still is that God provided for me, but it wasn’t for me like I thought. In a broad sense it was technically for me, but only because I am a part of the Kingdom. God provided so that I could grow the Kingdom in his name, that all his glory could continue to be seen throughout the Earth.
In Matthew 11 it talks about how the Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing, it doesn’t stop. It presses on, despite any circumstances that may arise from the world around it. A lesson I’m learning is that Abba desperately wants his bride, and he will have her. (If you haven’t read my World Race blog “A Wild and Ferocious God” I recommend you go and read that for more context on this) The Kingdom doesn’t need me to advance, the Lord will reclaim the Earth eventually with or without me. The fact is that I am privileged to have the opportunity to spread the Gospel throughout the Earth.
The past few days have been this struggle of shifting my mindset. From being, “Wow, isn’t God just so great for blessing me today?” to a place of seeing how this same blessing is a testimony of the Father’s faithfulness that can be used for the expanse of the Kingdom. This isn’t all to say that you shouldn’t rest and be glad about how faithful God is when he provides, it’s just adding another layer to that. God is good and he does love to provide for his children, but it also goes deeper than that. Along with this whole idea, I’ve also been learning about onions. How one thing I learned in one season can be so much deeper in the next. So God loves to provide for me his child, but he also wants his Kingdom to grow because of this blessing. See the layers here?
God is crazy, and he loves his people. The thing is though that he isn’t satisfied with the current population of his people. He wants all of us, and he will not be satisfied till this goal is met. Everyday I’m faced with the decision of choosing to live selfishly and take all the blessings at face value, or I can use this as fuel for something beyond myself. It’s a tough choice; see everything in my flesh wants to just accept it for me, but the Spirit spurs me to action. I think a blessing is supposed to go beyond myself, it’s gift rooted in momentum. It’s to carry on through me, on to the next person. Because at the end of the day, this whole thing isn’t really about me. It’s about something far grander than I could ever imagine.
Per the norm of these blogs, I’m going to end it with fundraising talk. The first of November was my $4,000 deadline, and I unfortunately didn’t make it. So in this next month of CGA I need to raise just under $4,000 to meet my next goal which is to be fully funded. If my entire class meets this goal we will have the opportunity to do a Capstone trip, which is a mission trip at the end of the semester to put all we learned into practice and spread the Kingdom. Please join me in prayer over this deadline! Please be in consideration and prayer about financially supporting me as well over this next month!
Love and blessings,
Tucker Stevens
