“The Spirit wants to make you dangerously noncompliant in a broken world. Ask God for a mountain.”- John Ortberg
John Ortberg concludes The Me I Want to Be with Chapter 22 (“Ask God for a Mountain”). He first observes that yearning for a problem-free life results in death by boredom. Thus, as you work to solve problems and overcome challenges, you transform into the person God wants you to be.
Therefore, Pastor Ortberg exhorts, ask God to give you a burden for a challenge greater than yourself, a challenge that:
- makes a difference in the world
- requires the best you have to give it
- (and) leaves some space for God besides
- keeps you learning, growing, uncomfortable, and hungry
As a result, the Holy Spirit lead us into adventure in a dangerous world. The Spirit wants to make you dangerously noncompliant so that you threaten all the forces of injustice, apathy, and complacency. Those forces keep our world from flourishing.
Life’s about asking God for another mountain, not comfort. Furthermore, we especially flourish, John states, “when we face challenges for a cause greater than ourselves. Know this for sure: God has a mountain with your name on it (emphasis John’s).”
In conclusion, Pastor Ortberg describes your deepest longing as:
” . . . to be alive with God, to become the person God made you to be, and to be used to help God’s world flourish. This is the life available to you every moment . . . no matter what your situation. God is at work in this hour, and his purpose is to shape you to be not only his servant, but his friend. Out of your belly flow rivers of living water. Blessed are you. Ask for a mountain.”
Today’s question: What makes you dangerously noncompliant in a broken world? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the annotated bibliography of The Me I Want to Be
