Count the Cost

"If a king is going to fight another king, first he will sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can defeat the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers.” Luke 14:31 (NCV)
My wife and I moved to Louisiana from Montana. Montana was a gorgeous place. The seven years we spent there were full of healing for us. The beautiful lakes, the mountains, the cool air just seemed to soak right into us.
And the church we pastored there was wonderful. It had grown both in depth and width, and exhibited a warm and caring atmosphere. People were getting healed—both emotionally and in their bodies. There was restoration and healing in relationships. God was very present.
But there was something missing. Our paradise became less attractive. We were actively pursuing God and His cause, but we couldn’t shake the feeling that we were in some ways out of the action. We began to ask God to take us to the battlefront. My prayer was “don’t let us retire early—let us be where the battle is.”
It took some time, but God slowly changed our hearts. We didn’t see how the change had been taking place slowly over time. We just came to place where our burning desire was to die “with our boots on”.
So we prayed. My wife fasted. God answered, and here we are. We did not fully realize it then, but I think we were rededicating ourselves to God again. Commitment is never a stationary action; we constantly need a new vision and a renewal of our vows, a new decision to follow God fully no matter what the cost.
-Pastor Dino Griffin