Don't let your fire burn out
'cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found.."
.
Darkness closing in, pressing your dry spirit inward and your lungs to gasp for air, you stop.
Frantically glancing around you black is all you can see, not a light to be found.
The water's rising and your heart races.
Flailing, you grasp for anything to hold on as your screams bounce back off the walls to smack your ears.
You grab onto sharp jagged rocks that barely keep you afloat as their sharp edges leave your hands bloody and scarred.
Suddenly, the Light arrives.
Blinding and bright, the sweet light shines on your trembling body.
Overwhelming peace takes you over and all is well.
Your hands raised in surrender, strong hands pull you out of the darkness.
You'd been walking the path so long.
In agony, your body fights against your mind to keep moving onward.
Outwardly, all seemed decently fine, your heart was "satisfied" but never full. Just enough light of your own flashlight and the distant highway billboards lit your path so that you could see a few feet in front of you. Good enough for you because at least you were going somewhere, right?
What if there was a brighter Light? One who would change everything.
The One who would lead your frightened and weary heart to a place of peace and rest.
In the past few years, I have had multiple friends deal with severe depression.
It is a harsh reality to come to grips with but the fact is that on a daily basis people are taking their own life because they see it as the only option when hope is completely invisible to them. Recently, a friend of mine lost someone who she had been close to with a suicide and he was only 18 years old. 18 years old and the story of his life has come to a close. How can this be possible?
Hearing this, my heart aches and words won't come. I am speechless when I think of the darkness this world can bring on people to bring them to such a point. If you look around you, pain is prevalent and sometimes this pain veils the Light meant to shine for us.
We live in a world that's hurting. A world that desperately needs Jesus Christ and His hope to restore the Light.
Depression is not the only avenue that those who are lost will journey to.
Searching for meaning, many will choose alcohol to be their guide. Some will put their worth in the grades printed on a report. Many will stare into the mirror hoping to find beauty that will be accepted by the world so that they may be "noticed". Some will choose sex to fill the gaping hole in their heart. Trapped by darkness and sin, some will choose to continue on their path of emptiness, some will cut it painfully short, and some will frantically flail for shaky support to cling to in social groups, social acceptance, or cliques.
Living inside a material world and a material body, their sight will fall flat.
[ They may never see the Beautiful Kingdom of God burning bright beneath the fabric of this world unless we step up. ]
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."-Hebrews 12:28-29
As followers of Christ, we need to be lighthouses. We need to be torches, candles, flashlights, anything that will reignite the light in their eyes.
I used to belong to the shadows. So consumed by the negatives, the sorrow, the lack of hope in myself and in God that I couldn't see until I allowed Jesus in to the door I had held shut so tightly.
Anthem Lights sings,
"So look in my eyes in the morning and see the hope there and the soul that still remains. Darkness never stood a chance."
If people can reach a point where the Light is visible, the darkness can be banished. It will flee when the Light arrives (James 4:7).
People all around are stumbling over rocks, inwardly screaming for their heart to be picked up off the ground and simply held. Their crying eyes may be wiped dry by rough dry tissues, but the tears are still falling. Afraid to reach out for somebody, many will clutch their pride tightly to their chest and continue empty living. It is our duty as Christians to open our eyes and to be an extension of Christ to the lonely, depressed, suffering, anguished children of God that are searching for light. This needs to be our mission, not simply something to do "one day".
In "The Lost Get Found" by Britt Nicole she sings, "Don't be afraid to stand out." This simple line strikes me so hard because for so long I was afraid.
I was afraid to always feel so different and that I didn't fit in. I was afraid to be tall, afraid to be outgoing, afraid to share my faith, afraid to speak up when someone would hurt me, afraid to explain the reason I didn't drink, afraid to explain the ring I wear as symbol of purity until marriage, afraid to open up to anyone to reveal how deeply I was hurting. Only when I realized that I had to embrace my differences, challenges, and flaws did Christ's love light my path towards His healing and the illumination of my purpose here.
Christ became my one and only Lighthouse guiding me home.
The faint lights led me away from Him.
They continue to lead the masses astray from Christ's all consuming fire. We live in a cracked society based upon foundational lies. Screamed at us in movies, television, the news, magazines, reality TV, people around us, we are told:
Materialism will buy happiness.
Sex with anybody will be "fun" and will bring you love.
Celebrities are to be honored and glorified.
Athletes and movie stars deserve all the praise.
Careers that don't make a lot of money aren't honorable
Purity before marriage is "not possible and is unrealistic"
Victoria Secret models are the "ideal woman"
Objectifying woman and men in magazines is okay.
Swearing is a teenage thing, why not swear?
Alcohol's a normal aspect of college- everyone does it.
College is a time of experimentation with girls/boys, dating, drinking, etc.
Or one of my favorites, those who are hurting or lost aren't your problem.
Oh really? Then whose problem is it? Please tell me.
They say you should be worried about taking care of yourself first before others.
God says this:
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If it is a concern of God's then it is a concern of mine.
I refuse to back down in my fight for those who are lost and hurting because it is the deepest desire of my heart to be an instrument of God in their healing and to inspire others to do the same.
This past year I have visibly seen God at work through friends of mine and playing out in my own life.
People telling me they knew God had set me in their lives for a reason.
People telling me how much my presence in their lives has been of value to them. In hearing this, I am reminded of the power our lives carry through the power of Christ alone. Not through anything I, Taylor Elizabeth Ely, have written, spoken, painted, or shared but through Jesus shining brightly through my fragmented and broken pieces.
[I have a seen a Light like the break of dawn giving blind men
sight, letting lame men walk. I see a generation with
Resurrection life, we are a generation filled with the
power of Christ.]
Our lives have power.
They have significance because Christ can shine in us if we make the ultimate choice to be His light.
God has given us the vehicle to have His glory, healing, and peace shine through us if we open our hearts to let Him in. These flickering lights are not strong enough to point the lost to their true home with God. We have to muster the courage to shine because His work is never done in vain. It is working towards a higher purpose that we will not fully understand until we are one with Him.
| "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." -1 Corinthians 15:58 |
What if we could be the change?
What if we could be that person who restores hope into somebody's life? What if we could be the one God uses to bring a lost child of His home?
Better yet, what are we waiting for?
"Like ships bound for shipwreck,
Most people just simply drift along
And miss their destination without knowing anything is wrong
No direction and without a care
Feels so good and then you’re lost out there
Don’t you remember how it felt ‘til someone showed you the way..."
Do you remember? Do you remember where you were in your life when somebody stepped into your path to redirect you to hope? Were you in pain, seeking, lost, or completely unaware of your brokenness and what you were missing out on? Where would you be without them? Without God?
Start opening your eyes.
Notice the social groups and look beyond the surface to see the pain hiding beneath the eyes of many. It is real, raw, brokenness you will find in each person you take the time to truly see. Notice those who are always by themselves, those who have nowhere to sit at lunch, the ones who have "bad reputations" and get to know them. Take time to check up on your friends to see how they're truly doing beyond the simple "how are you?". Be there for the people in your life, you don't know how much you are worth to many.
Be that extension of the Light God has created you to be to this world.
I commit myself Lord to being that Light.
Lord, I want to be courageous in fighting to spread Christ so that You may touch the crying eyes and wipe away every tear with great healing.
I want to be the type of person that as people get to know me, they get to know Christ better.
I know many of you reading this are lost. Some may not even realize it. Many of you may know Christ but are struggling to feel His presence while others may have never experienced Christ.
So many of you ache for someone to care for you. Someone to reaffirm that your life matters and that things are going to get better.
You need healing from a broken past, the hope that has slipped so silently through your loosened grip, the mistakes that have left your soul empty and heart hardened.
I want each one of you to know that I am here.
I have no judgement for those of you who have made choices they're not proud of whether it is with partying, sex, or drugs. I am not perfect either and will never pretend to be. I have more flaws than I can list.
I am not afraid of talking about the issues I went through in years past if you need someone to talk to about body image and self confidence issues. These two things plagued me in years past and God has been my strength in overcoming many of them.
If you are struggling with the fact that you aren't in a relationship right now and you've lost faith in yourself because of it, I have been there and would love to help you through it and encourage you.
Do not hesitate even for a moment to reach out to me by emailing me (taylor.ely@hope.edu), messaging me on Facebook, or calling me if you are in need of prayer, simply need a friend to listen, or someone to go to coffee with (if you're at Hope College or at home when I'm on breaks).
Lord, my life is a Light for Your cause.
With people walking far from you, some intentionally and some unintentionally, let me be the type of follower of Yours that is courageous and strong enough to shine for You. Give me the peace to gently lead them back to you all the while living my out my purpose for You with a spirit of peace, a heart full of joy, and a life screaming of Your love. Illuminate my priorities so that I may remember that showing others Christ is my first priority above every other thing in this life. It comes down to love in this life and the relationships I will carefully build in love and seek out in Your name. I want a heart that looks like Yours. I want a spirit that is driven and works tirelessly for the cause of Christ at Hope College and beyond.
Make us all into your Lights Lord. Fan the flame so that we burn bright. Inspire me and others to look outside the confines of a young age to dream of new and bigger ways to spread Your Light and ignite deeper passions for You.
Move our hearts to be convicted by the words You have spoken into so much of this world's darkness and let that be inspiration to pass the Light on. In all things You are made visible if only we open the eyes of this world to see You.
We can awaken the wandering souls to the wonder of knowing Christ by living a life that leads, a life that is bold and courageous in faith.
And that is how { the lost get found }
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