All of You, none of me

So... I went down to Melbourne for pre-field training last week. Perhaps the best and the most challenging week of my life. They taught us much on purpose, however what I came away with was so much greater than that - the experience was the sum of it's parts, really. The parts consisted of 11 people whom God had called to mission and the OM families who taught, supported and befriended us. Alongside those people, we spent a week in God's presence.

We came together, united by the same God, worshipping Him, learning from and sharing about His word, discussing His works in our lives and those around us, all there for the same purpose with the same heart. Everything during that week was offered up to God; our lives, hearts, bodies, thanks, praises, worship, time. It was a discipline, yet I know that for me personally, there was nothing else I'd rather do - now and forever; and I'm pretty sure it was the same for all of us there.

In Luke 9:28-36 Peter, John and James went up the mountain to pray with Jesus. The transfiguration of Jesus must have been a huge spiritual experience and in fact they wanted it to last longer - Peter suggested setting up tents and "camping out" for while. This period of time in Melbourne was a mountain-top experience and I did not want to leave that mountain-top and have had struggles while coming down. What God has constantly been reminding me of is that it's not about me, it's about God. Just like a cloud overshadowed the disciples, our personal feelings need to be overshadowed by our true worship (24/7) of God. And just as God said, "This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him," we need to also give our ears and hearts to what God is saying. Spiritual highs are all about praising God, not about us. But I'd like the closeness to God that happened during that week to stay always.

I totally understand that, as the essence of what I learnt this week was that it's all about God. But how to come down off that mountain-top and put that to work in our earthly lives. The experience was so amazing and God's revelations have been awesome (as I pray they will continue to be) but how to share that with others? No-one else can truly understand if they weren't on that same mountain top with you and sharing your walk as they had their own.
How does one go about sharing an experience like that with others who weren't there? To maintain a renewed mind in Christ while walking on the earth here and now? There are the mundane things that happen in life; bills need to be paid, shopping happens and a myriad of other such things. They don't seem very spiritual, but I'm learning that it's your attitude and having Christ in your thoughts as it happens.

He lived on earth in human form - he knows what it's like and did it all while maintaining that constant connection to the Father. Jesus lived in constant availability to God and so should we. We need to learn a way of being that is contextualized in a larger frame than the current situation, seeing a picture that's bigger than what meets the eye. By always being a little outside our situation, we are actually made more available to be present to the situation; this is an aspect of the freedom we gain by dying to self and becoming alive to God.

More of You, less of me - all of You, none of me, Lord God.

How does one do that? Pray constantly, immerse myself in His Word (Psalm 119) and constantly be asking questions of God. Lord that I would have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, not only what is actually said and shown, but the true picture of what You know is going on. I pray for an overflowing of Your Holy Spirit in my life, that I would be a bucket to be moved and the overflow would wash onto anyone with whom I come into contact - that You in me would rub off onto others. Lord I pray that as I am with others, that they would not be seeing and talking with me, but with You. "Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5