We had the amazing privilege to hear a testimony from Mae-Tuin. Mae-Tuin has been in so many ministries, we need to find new ones to put her in! As she shared her stories of challenge and how God was breaking through, it was encouraging to see that in the midst of uncertainty, Mae-Tuin would find Jesus.
As she shared, the Lord was highlighting the idea of conviction. It seems like every testimony starts with challenge, yet it declares and proclaims the faithfulness and goodness of God. It is in the challenges where it can be so difficult to see where God is and what God is doing. This I know to be true, because we all have experienced challenges like this before.
In every testimony, Mae Tuin shared a moment where God would get her attention. In the middle of reality where her mind, thoughts, and complaints were taking over – there would always be a moment where God would prod and challenge – in other words; convict. There is a fine line between guilt and conviction; guilt causes us to run away from God, whereas conviction causes us to run to God. A fine line, but the end result is so different.
I am reminded of the time my dad and mom were going to leave TLCF to help start MLCF. It was a time when I had just had my first child and when my brother and his family were at TLCF as well. Church on Sunday was a place where our whole family would come together and worship the Lord. It was so special and a tremendous privilege, but my dad decided to help with MLCF.
Selfishly, I asked him why he wanted to leave TLCF, I didn’t want to lose free dinners after church. But what he shared has stuck with me even to this day. My dad loves it at TLCF. He could be with his family, there were plenty of young people to do the work, all he had to do was be there and enjoy. MLCF is a lot of work. There are days where my dad and mom are the set up team, worship team, MC, speaker, shut down team, and refreshment team all on the same day! MLCF is a lot of work!
But my dad said, “I can help someone find the book of Mark”. In other words, my parents had a conviction to help people through MLCF. His conviction to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit was greater than the complaints and challenges they knew they would face along the way.
We say this often at LifeSpring: Listen Well, Obey Quickly. We often listen well, consider the pros and cons, do an analysis, do another comparison, weigh the cost, then possibly obey reluctantly. As we continue to mature in our faith, let us simply Listen Well, Obey Quickly. It is better to be in the storm with Jesus than on the shore without Him.
Let us as a family live a life of conviction. I will give to you the encouragement and advice I give to my staff: I would rather you follow through on 1 conviction, than 100 instructions. Amen.