Matthew 6:25-34
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. but if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
You may or may not know that most of my life I've dealt with anxiety. My personality and temperament are just tuned that way. It wasn't until I went to see a Christian counselor after walking through the deaths of 19 of my co-workers in 2013, that I understood I didn't have to live like that. Of course I had read the verses above and other references in the Bible of "Do not be afraid" and "Worrying will not add a single day to your life", but it wasn't until someone explained what that really meant for me did I realize it was a problem. You see, I would get lost in my own brain sometimes. My mind would race down a rabbit trail of 'what ifs' and 'if only I'd' scenarios, and sometimes I couldn't do anything else. It lead to depression and withdrawal and putting on a happy face to the world because it was just too hard to let people in. Folks, I'm here to say that that right there is NO place to live in. There is freedom and it's found in Christ Jesus. I cannot tell you how absolutely freeing it is to lay everything at the foot of the cross and surrender it to Jesus.
I didn't know what that looked like for a long time. I must have missed the sermons about discipleship, or maybe they just weren't there. Do you know what discipleship is? Has anyone explained it?
Discipleship is putting God back on His rightful throne, denying your life in service to Him, and just walking one. step. at. a. time.
That's all folks.
There's no formula. No special rituals. There are no special prayers to say. It's a relationship with the Creator God who put you where you're at today. He's standing right in front you, hand stretched out to take yours and lead you on the narrow path. People get so scared and loose sight of the big picture. The truth is, the big picture is Jesus. It's when you try to look under His arm or around His side while you think He's not looking and see a looming mountain that you panic. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. He'll show you the mountain if He wants, but you still have to follow in His steps to get there. The thing I love about discipleship is that it's not just me, Katie Jean, walking some wandering, narrow path. It's Jesus leading me. He says He will never leave me and He will never forsake me. He is omnipresent, which means He is literally everywhere at once.
So the last month has been a time of me completely surrendering for the sake of surrender. To sincerely give everything to God with no expectations. And you know what? He has answered me and provided for me in ways I could never have truly imagined. In 29 days, I am leaving Phoenix and headed to YWAM Tyler, where I'll be attending a 2 day worship conference. From there, I will continue my cross-country drive to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which will be my home until September when I'll head back to YWAM Tyler for a School of Worship. I cannot begin to share with you the joy and excitement I have to be starting this next chapter with my YWAM family in worship and intercession for the nations. I can think of no better way.
The School of Worship (SOW) I'll be attending is a 6 month program, and set up like the DTS I did last year in Australia. It will have a 3 month lecture/training phase where we'll study the Biblical principals of a worship leader as well as be trained in practical application of our chosen instrument. I've chosen the keyboard as my instrument of choice for this training. After that is complete, we'll have a 3 month outreach phase. At this point, I don't know where we'll be going. It could be anywhere. We may stay here in the U.S or travel to Asia. I just don't know. We'll be sharing the gospel through music and the heart of worship. I will need to raise about $8,000 dollars for this ministry. If you'd like to partner with me through finances or prayer, reach out to me via email or Facebook. I'd love to chat with you about it some more.
I have so many specific stories I want to share with you about how God is working in my life, but for now I'll just leave you with what's above. I pray that your tomorrow is better than today and that your heart is beating closer to God's.
Much love,
Katie Jean
