Trust, Adventure, & How God Speaks to Me Through Disney Movies

            How does God speak to you? In what creative ways do you find Him pursuing you and meeting with you right where you are?  What ordinary things in your life does He use to impart truth, to challenge and to encourage you? For me, one of those ways is movies, especially Disney movies!  Our God is the Master Storyteller, the one who created us to love, enjoy, and appreciate the arts, so should it really surprise us when He shows up speaking to us in the middle of the story? Furthermore, I find many times that those are the moments that stick with me over the years, the ones where He takes a simple line/scene or a song from a movie and speaks straight to my heart and soul through it.  For me, one such movie is Aladdin.
     

Aladdin

         
           In the movie, Aladdin shows up on Jasmine's balcony with a magic carpet and asks the question, "Do you trust me?" before he takes her on a magic carpet ride all over the world. (If you somehow managed to live through the 90's without seeing this iconic scene or you just love it as much as I do, click here. 😉) The Lord used this scene back in the beginning of 2012 when I was really wrestling through some hard stuff and really questioning Him about the circumstances of my life and how it was playing out so differently from how I had thought it would. I remember so vividly how it happened! I was sitting on the floor by the couch in my parents' living just pouring my heart out to Him through my journal, when all of sudden this scene started playing in my mind! However, instead of it being Aladdin and Jasmine, it was the Lord on the magic carpet, holding out His hand to me and asking, "Do you trust me?" It was a very powerful and life-changing moment for me! I knew then that I had a choice to make:

Was I going to stay where I was, in the safety of my "palace",  feet firmly planted on the ground still demanding answers and wanting guarantees before I  agreed to join Him?

OR

Was I going to choose to reach out in faith, take His hand in trust and join Him for the ride of a lifetime?

            However, six years later, what I am learning is that this choice, (as much as I'd like it to be) is NOT a a one-time deal! It's a day by day, month by month, year by year type of choice. (And some days, it could even be a hour by hour or minute by minute choice.) Every day that we wake up, you have a choice to make, I have a choice to make. In the midst of all this, the cool thing that I have learned over the years is that each time that I choose to step up and step out in faith and trust, is that God is FAITHFUL to meet me there!! And as I live each day with Him, we develop a history and a relationship together! This is absolutely crucial because when I find myself in one of those painful, gut-wrenching, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND" moments, it is because of our history together and His track record of faithfulness, that I am able to stand, trust and proclaim my sacrifice of praise. Because sometimes that's all you've got. And I'm learning that that's ok. (More on that later.) And then, there are those times where He just blows your mind with blessings upon blessings and you find yourself feeling so humbled and just in awe of everything that He has done and is doing. Both are equal parts of life, we can't have one without the other and we are equally beloved in both. Our identity doesn't change with our circumstances! NO. Instead it is in and rests upon the never changing character of our fully trustworthy God. (and if you know me, you know that's a BIG DEAL for me to able to say that! God is just so good, y'all...) 😃
       
          What about you? Do you, like me, find that you like your safe palace and all the answers while at the same time longing for the boldness, guts, & courage, that it would take for you to climb onto that magic carpet and go for a ride? If so, join me in answering these questions below:

• What does your "palace" look like? 
•   What are you still demanding answers/guarantees for that God is calling you to?
•   What would it look like for you to step out in trust and take that magic carpet ride? (It doesn't have to be anything big or extravagant, it might be something that looks incredibly simple, but you and the Lord both know what a big deal that choice/step of obedience would be. After all, I find that it's usually that first step that's one of the hardest for me to make.)
• Finally, is there a pocket of time this week that you could set aside to answer these questions? Break out the journal and a pen! Or grab a good friend to talk/pray through this with them and a good cup of coffee to drink while you do so! I promise that if you do, that it'll be time well spent. 
• And Finally, Finally...Don't be afraid to have a Disney sing-along together!! Belt it out, TOP OF YOUR LUNGS!! Off key, On key, doesn't matter, just do it! And have fun!