There’s More

There’s More (1,141)

May 9th, 2011

Exhilaration—an invigorating mixture of anticipation, danger, joy, risk, wonder, jubilance, anxiety and faith.

I love to be exhilarated. It puts color in my cheeks and it lets me know that what God has given me actually is sufficient because I have dared to put it to the test. May I venture to say that some folks never feel exhilaration because they are reluctant to lay it on the line or to believe with all their hearts, souls, mind and strength that there’s more?

I have just finished doing eleven performances in nine days in the state of Minnesota. I am exhilarated. It is not because everything went perfectly or that each audience embraced me as a long-lost brother. Candidly, the folks of this northern state have a tendency to be a bit cautious—occasionally to the point of approaching new experiences and new people with a bit of foreboding.

I don’t care. I was in New Ulm, Hutchinson, Albert Lea, Deerwood and LakeCrystal this week. I was exhilarated in each environment. And of a truth—the only way to maintain a lifestyle capable of having exhilaration is to calm yourself down enough to realize that there’s more.

If I could say anything to a gathering of individuals about to witness my program, I would tell them to relax and realize that there’s more. Anybody who walks into a new experience with eagerness is on the road to living a life of blessing.

What keeps us stagnant, stoic and free of innovation is the notion that we have culminated our learning experiences somewhere in our early twenties and now we’re just living off the resources from that curriculum.

Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing I do, nowhere I go and no one I meet that doesn’t impart to me some new piece of information that makes me a better human being. That is a fact.

In New Ulm, I learned that a larger church does not necessarily bring out more people, unless the members are motivated and understand what’s coming their way. In Hutchinson, I discovered that a small church with a vision can energize itself to be excited about doing something without having any more information than the next place. In Albert Lea, I watched as a well-organized man put together an equally well-organized concept—to bless people he really cares about as he brings them new experiences. In Deerwood, I saw a small town with a flourishing congregation which was intoxicated on its own sense of mission, and just included Janet and myself as a part of their family portrait.

And yesterday in LakeCrystal, I met a woman with a heart of gold who was chipping off little pieces of her treasure each and every week to a congregation receiving the good news of treasure to be unearthed.

But one thing is certain: nothing happens in life until you believe there’s more—because what we have defined in our society as contentment is really complacency. And the difference is that contentment has moving parts—cogs and wheels that are always churning towards possibility. Complacency pretends to be peaceful while suffering dissatisfaction.

There’s more.

It’s exhilarating. I suppose it’s a little dangerous to some people’s minds because they want things to calm down so they can get the right-sized box for all the stuff they already know.

Be smart. Throw away the box. And remember: “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard what the Father has prepared for those who love Him.”