What an amazing summer! Words cannot begin to describe how anointed the past seven weeks were. If you were at The Great Escapes Lee 1 or Lee 2, The Great Escapes Carolina, Diverge at Springhill, Super Summer in Kansas, The Big Ticket Music Festival in Michigan, or at Mayfield Lake Camp in Washington State then you know what God did that week; you know what God did in your life!
To my knowledge, there were more than 900 teens this summer who gave it all to Jesus and became a christian. Isn’t that phenomenal! I have heard from countless teens via Facebook and email this summer who were blown away with what GOD DID. I too have been blown away this week as I have taken some time to reflect on how visible He was at each camp and festival. God showed up in a big way everywhere and I am confident there are thousands of teens and adults (including me) who will never forget experiencing God in a very raw and real way this summer.
Obviously, the challenge at hand now is re-entry. The camp experience is a unique one with energy and a euphoria almost unlike any other. It’s easy for one to get caught up in it all, let go of inhibitions and feel freedom to worship, pray, and draw close to God. Now that you have returned home, it’s only natural that you may not feel that same “feeling” you felt while at camp. This is why it is important for you to remember those words I gave you at camp: GOD IS NOT A FEELING. GOD IS A CHOICE.
Don’t search for that same “camp” feeling. Instead, make the choice that you are going to continue worshipping, praying, and pursuing God just as you did for that one week while at camp. Read your bible, pray, and spend time with friends who will encourage you to do the same. Do this and do this often. It may not be realistic for you to do this everyday. But you can set goals to push yourself to work more each week to spend quality face-time with God.
If you haven’t started this process yet, go to Exodus 33-34 and begin reading the story of Moses and God. It is a great story of how God revealed Himself to Moses as Moses made the choice to spend time alone with Him. Exodus 34:30 says that “the skin of his (Moses) face glowed because He had been speaking with God.” This is proof that when we spend intimate time with God, our lives radiate Him to the world. Moses didn’t experience a feeling. He experienced God. You can too! But you have to do your part to get alone with God and let Him burn your skin with His presence.
The reality is summer camp is over. But the experience doesn’t have to end. God wants to continue speaking into your life, if you will make the choice each day to let Him. If you read on in Exodus, you will see that Moses often took time to be alone with God. That’s how he knew Him so well. I hope you’ll commit consistently to make the choice, just like Moses, to move past the feeling and step into the presence of the Holy God.
