The Longest Day of My Life

It all started Thursday morning at precisely 8:13 as I scrambled out of my bed in a wild frenzy trying to silence my blaring alarm clock. It was the day that my first semester of college would end and I would fly back to Japan for Christmas. I only had one last exam at one o'clock: Old Testament Survey. The rest of the morning was not actually that interesting. It mostly involved me eating breakfast, procrastinating, watching NBA highlights, and cramming O.T. dates, names, and places in the few precious hours I had. The exam itself was not actually very difficult. To be honest, it was surprisingly an anti-climactic way to end the semester. Nevertheless, I walked out in confidence and jubilee knowing that I could count on having 16 official college credits on my transcript. I walked home, watched more NBA, chatted with my housemates, and finished packing for my long trip that lay ahead of me. Little did I know how long.

I went out to dinner with my whole house and lined up for the midnight showing of the Hobbit. At 6:30, we were the first people in line. After playing bananagrams, doing pushups, reading out loud to each other, and gloating over the hundred people in line behind us, we finally entered the theater and got the best seats in the house. The Hobbit was FANTASTIC by the way. Please stop what you are doing right now and go see it. Well, finish reading this first. Then go see it. It was awesome.

At 2:58 AM, the movie ended. It's friday now and after being awake for close to 19 hours, I was starting to feel a little tired. My flight to Seattle was at 5 AM so we went home, snatched up our bags, and were out the door in a flash. Surprisingly, the airport was fairly busy at 4 in the morning. My friend who was flying standby didn't get on the flight with me. With mixed emotions, I waved goodbye as I stepped on the plane without him. If only I could have seen this moment as a foreshadowing of what was to come.

I arrived at Seattle and quickly checked-in on standby for my 12:50 PM flight to Narita. By the time I check my luggage and go through security, I still have over 6 hours to wait before my flight. Now if anyone has every waited in an airport for 6 hours, they know that 6 hours is a very, very, very long time. It's even longer when half the time you are wondering if you won't even get on the flight you are waiting for. It's even longer still when every seat has arm rests between them so you can't lay down. All this to say that 6 hours is indeed a very long time.

Interesting side notes. While waiting during this time, I met someone who was my classmate/friend's brother's friend. *It's a small world after all~* I also got to watch the story of the shootings in Connecticut develop on CNN. Let's remember to be praying for the families and the community there and pray that God will use this to bring glory to His great name and to bring people to recognize His great love.

And now climax of the story. It was 12:53 PM and all the passengers had boarded the plane. Looking around, I could tell who was on standby like I was because they were either nervously glancing at the gate every 5 seconds, tearing their hair out in angst, or on the verge of a mental breakdown. I know because I was doing all three. In retrospect, I suppose that it was mostly from being awake for 28 hours. You can imagine my response when I heard my name being called as I leaped from my seat and dashed to the gate in a furry. The told me I had a seat on the flight! YES!!! That six hour wait had been worth it! Oh Joy! I could at last relax and enjoy knowing where my destiny for the day was: On that flight to see my family again. They were about to lead me onto the airplane when suddenly the phone rang at the counter. The attendant answered it and after a brief conversation she hung up and turned to me. "I'm sorry," she said calmly and professionally, "but although there is a seat for you, the weight limit on the plane has been reached so we cannot let you board." With that she turned, closed the gate door and left me standing there in shock.

Ok, I'm an aviation student so I really do understand why they have those stupid weight limits but seriously? How much is 165 pounds (me) going to do to a Boeing 747? This was even more devastating when I later realized that my 86 pounds of checked luggage had made it on the flight but I didn't. I was devastated again when I talked to an airline employee that said that every flight on the west coast flying over the pacific was %100 booked. Considering that there are plenty of people higher up on standby then I was, the chance of me getting on a flight this weekend is practically nil.

All this to say that it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do, but I finally figured that staying in Seattle was not a good idea considering that I had no place to stay and the flights weren't looking positive. I waited another 4 hours in the airport and caught a 3 hour bus to bring me to my grandparents house. So here I am, 38 hours later, in the mountains with my grandparents trying not to think about the fact that I could be arriving in Japan right about now. This has certainly been one really long day.

I tried to keep this story light hearted and comical, but to be honest, I was tempted so much to be negative all day. Whether it was arm rests so I couldn't lay down, weight limits that would take my luggage on a plane but not me, or that lady next to me on the bus with the kindle on full brightness so I couldn't sleep, I found myself trying not to complain or not to question God's good will. Yes, I know He is in control, but I don't know why He does things the way He does. I'm not going to lie to you. I am really disappointed and very frustrated that I am going to miss spending an entire weekend with my family. But you know what? It's God's plan. So I need to trust that everything he does is to draw me closer to Him and for me to rely on Him more and more. He is Good and He has never failed me before. So even though I feel like my circumstances really suck, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Besides, I get to spend some extra time with my grandparents...in the mountains...in the snow! How cool is that? Well I guess it's not so bad after all. Thanks God.

Jesus, Neighbors, and Airplanes

I once heard that the best place to share the gospel with someone is on an airplane. Think about it. Not only is it perfectly normal to have a conversation with a passenger next to you, but there is no place for them to run. If they don't like what you have to say, they can't make up an excuse to leave because hey, you're on an airplane. What are they gonna do? Go hide in the bathroom for the remaining hour and a half until the plane lands? They have no choice but to sit there and listen as you present God's great message of love and peace that can bring them salvation and eternal life if the accept Christ as their savior.

Why do I mention this you ask? For two reasons. First, I have been doing some traveling lately and will continue to be on the road (and the air) for the next couple of weeks. So as my frequent flyer miles stack up, this has been something on my mind. Second, this is an issue that God has really been challenging me on lately. As most of you know, it is my passion – and I believe it is my calling – to be a missionary and specifically a missionary pilot overseas. It breaks my heart to know that every day real people who have real lives go another day without knowing that God loves them and desires for them to turn to Him. It breaks my heart even more to know that there are people that die everyday who have never even heard the name of Jesus before. I want to point people to Christ.

Despite this desire I have to share the gospel with others, I have never really had the boldness and courage to intentionally seek out people to tell them about Jesus. As a matter of fact, it is something that I am terrified about. It all started back when I was in 7th grade while at boarding school in Japan. I was getting a haircut and decided that I should try and share the gospel with the Japanese guy who was cutting my hair. In my limited and extremely informal Japanese, I did my best to try and speak God's words of hope and truth into this man's life. I didn't even know the right Japanese words for grace, sin, or salvation! Right from the get go, I could see his eyes glaze over as he nodded politely after everything I said. As I concluded my spiel, he smiled and gave me the Japanese version of the phrase, "Well that's nice." Needless to say, I walked out of that barber shop extremely disappointed in my failure.

Ever since this moment, I have been hesitant to intentionally seek the lost to share the gospel with them. Sure I was able to talk with some public school friends about Christ, but over the last three years, it has been an issue that I have been avoiding in my walk with the Lord. I was reminded of this issue when I had lunch with a friend when I was California last weekend. She reminded me of a very interesting idea behind The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. The word "Go" as in "Go and make disciples of all nations" actually means as you go in the original greek. Jesus' final words on Earth commands us to make disciples as we go. This means that where ever we are, what ever we are doing, or who ever we are with, we share the message of Jesus Christ with everyone we can.

So the question that has been haunting me is this: How will I be able to share the gospel with people in the future as a full-time missionary if I can't do it now as I go in my life at college? I was reminded of my short comings the other day when I realized that I had passed up a perfect opportunity to talk to the passenger next to me about Jesus. Looking back, I can't believe how blind I was to this divine appointment. Of course, no one is perfect, but in order to be a man after God's own heart, I must try to have God's heart. And God has a heart that seeks the lost.

Please join me as I not only pursue opportunities to share the gospel, but I pursue to create new opportunities to share God's love with my neighbors and people in my city here at college. It won't be easy and I know that I will fail at times, but I will certainly not give up. They say that the chief end of man is to Glorify God. One of the best ways to glorify God is to show others how great He is! The way that we show others to God is by sharing the message of Jesus and how His death and resurrection brings life to those who were once dead. What good news is this! How can we keep it to ourselves?

The Great Commission: It was His command. It is our calling. It will be our lifestyle.

Literally Dropped In My Lap

As I sat at my desk working on an exegetical paper on a passage in Joshua, my roommate walk in and tossed something in my lap. Puzzled, I scooped it up and glanced at it as I asked him what it was. He said that it was a job application to a thrift store nearby and that I should check it out. At the time I was doing some serious job-hunting but had not had any positive results. Sure, there were lots of people praying that I would find a job, but in this economy and with the scarcity of jobs available, I must confess that I was doubtful to find anything (not to mention that my resume is not very impressive). The  application was for a local homeless outreach who ran a thrift store to support the homeless shelter across town. Working at a thrift store sounded like a good possibility, so I shrugged and started filling it out.

Fifteen minutes later, I was pedaling toward downtown on my bike eager yet unsure about submitting another application. The facility was very impressive and the staff quite professional. I submitted my application as well as my resume and as I walked out those doors I was hoping for the best.

4 weeks is a long time to not hear anything. When it comes to job applications, when you don't hear anything for an entire month, it usually means that you have been forgotten. That's OK, I thought, I'm sure that God will provide something else. Disappointment was something that I had gotten used by this point and I was on the verge of giving up many times.

Well thanks be to the God that never forgets us even if companies do. I received a very unexpected phone call in the other day that went something like this:

"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Joel Driscoll?"
"Yes it is. Can I help you?"
"The is Ms. Jane Doe from Union Gospel Mission. We were digging though some of our older applications and we stumbled across yours. We were wondering if you are still available for employment."
"Well I certainly am!" *fist pumping*
"Excellent. We'd like to meet you. Can you come in for an interview?"
"Certainly!" *more fist pumping*

You have probably guessed this already, but I went in for the interview, got the job, and will start working this Friday. As I look back and see how God provided this job, I see that He really did drop it in my lap. To those of you who were praying: Thank You.

How can I ask for any more than this? How can I ever forget that He will always provide? How can I ever doubt such a powerful God? He has given me no such reason. It blows me away how He has revealed Himself these first few months. It seems too easy to forget the goodness of God. Let us not forget who we serve and continue to trust in Christ our Savior and Lord for He is a good God.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (and to Him who drops wonderful things in our laps!), according to His power that is at work with in us, to Him be the glory in the church and Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
                - Ephesians 3:20-21

Too Much yet Never Enough

Imagine that you have just won a free lifetime supply of gift cards that would cover the price for any restaurant that you go to. What would your initial response be? If you are anything normal, you might jump up and down and scream for joy. Those of us who are more reserved might just smile and then wait to jump and scream when we know that no one is looking. Such a gift would be incredible! Food is good, but free food is even more glorious; Is there anyone who would reject such an offer?

My response to getting accepted to MBI was very similar. Ok, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. But there was jumping and fist pumping involved I'll tell you that much. Like I had just won a life time pass to freedom and excitement,  I was excited to be on my way to be a missionary pilot and my spirit was flying high (pun intended). Once I arrived here in Spokane my excitement was rekindled. My time here has been absolutely phenomenal and I have been so blessed to be able to attend such an awesome school. The professors and classes have not been too difficult but they have certainly been spiritually challenging and inspiring. Spending all day in God's word and learning more about Him has been a wonderful experience. Fredrick W. Faber could not have been any more correct when he said:

     "Only to sit and think of God, Oh what a Joy it is!
       To think the thought, to breath the Name, Earth has no higher bliss."

God has been teaching me so much that sometimes I feel like my head is about to explode with information! As a matter of fact, there are somedays were I feel like I can not learn anymore simply because there is so much to learn.

A wonderful yet annoying truth has began to haunt me over my first few months here: God, being infinite, omnipotent, and all-knowing, is a God that we, as temporary, broken, and foolish people, can never fully understand His majesty, ways, and being. This bugs me so much! I can never fully grasp God. He is just too much for me. I can study as much as I want about theology and doctrine but this feeble mind of mine can only handle so much information. But I want so much more! I desire to understand and to comprehend the entirety of His goodness and love. Jesus is just too good to not seek Him wholeheartedly and He deserves our all. It is frustrating that we are only human and can only fill our minds to a certain point. I suppose this fact just adds to the greatness of God! If we can never fully understand Him, it gives us all the more reason to adore his majesty and awesome power. Even if he may be too much for us, he will never be enough. My mind is overflowing with Jesus...but I desire more! Just as if I had won that gift card, I have eaten too much of God's free food so I am full. It was so delicious that even though I am full, I want more!

Please do no misunderstand me. I am not in any way, shape or form saying that Christ is not good enough. He is more than enough for us. In fact He has gone far beyond all that we can hope or imagine because while we were still sinners he died for us. Even though I sin against Him everyday, He continues to be faithful and loving as He forgives me and helps me up again. All am saying is that we, in our weak and finite minds can never fully understand His greatness even we seek it to the ends of the world.

I hope that you have somehow been encouraged through this post. Our God is indeed a great God! Let us continually seek Him every day for as long as we live. I conclude with this passage from God's word:

    "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:
     that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
     to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple."
                           - Psalms 27:4

Blessings

I honestly believe that encouragement, genuine and pure encouragement from the heart, is one of the most potent blessings that one man bestow his fellow. In fact, the writer of Hebrew commands us to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together but encouraging one another." When we are encouraged, there is something beautiful and indescribable that happens inside each of us. In that sudden instant, we can go from feeling mediocre or from being broken too being suddenly lifted up. For that moment, life seems a little bit brighter. 

This post is primarily me showing joy and appreciation to those of you who have expressed your love for me through your letters, care packages, emails, Facebook messages, and phone calls of encouragement. You have made my weeks, days, and even hours here at college so much more incredible. I am so thankful for each of you and I love you all so much. God has blessed my life my tremendously through yours, so please accept my humble appreciation: Thank You.

Moreover, this post is also a declaration of how God, being who he is, has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing" (Eph.1:3). God has not just blessed me through your encouragement, but If I were to list all that He has blessed me with just within my 1st month here at MBI-Spokane, the list would be far longer than I'm sure you would ever care to sit through and read. That is why I give all the honor and all the glory to Him because He deserves it...and deserves more. I know that He could take everything away and leave me with nothing. Even if He did, it would be alright because He is sovereign and great. But this is what makes Jesus so phenomenal: He chooses to bless us. So I praise Him because He loves me beyond my imagination and is willing to bless me, a wretched man.

Thank you Jesus. I can never fully express my appreciation for what you do and who you are.

The First Few Yards

The moments before a race are hard to describe. You are extremely nervous, jittery, energized, and hopeful as you prepare yourself physically and mentally. As you take your spot in your lane on your starting block, your mind races: Am I really ready for this? You gaze ahead and imagine yourself a couple moments from now: pounding your legs, determined eyes, and your mind on the goal as you fly toward the finish line. Of course, there is no way to foresee exactly what will happen and how you will feel during the race. You can only guess...and hope for the best.

You may have already figured out the symbolism here. Before I arrived in Spokane, before I stepped into my new house, and before I walked into my first class, I could only guess what God had in store for me here. Sure I had diligently prepared myself before hand by buying accessories for my room, planning ahead schedules, and what not, but there was no way that I could really understand how my time here would be. I prayed a lot (no really, I prayed a lot) and had no choice but to leave everything into God's hands. Funny how He does that. How He puts us in situations where our only chance of survival is clinging to Him. Is it coincidental how He world works like that? I think not. 

So now you're probably wondering how my first two weeks here have been. Well, praise be to the Lord, I'm alive. Ok, I'm much better then alive, I'm having the time of my life. God has blessed me with so much here and I am so glad and give Him thanks for all of it. I have already made a lot of great friends and I have fantastic housemates as well. I has been a privilege to attend MBI and I am greatly enjoying all my classes. It has been really exciting to see how God has (from before I got here) prepared for a smooth transition to life here at college. I thank Jesus for everything He has blessed me with so far.

There is one thing that I would really appreciate prayer for: a job. It would be a real blessing if I had the opportunity to work while here in spokane. A place walking distance, hours that work well with my schedule, and a good work place would be something only God could provide. Pray that as I search and apply to places in the neighborhood, God would miraculously open up opportunities for a part-time job. I covet your prayers on this matter.

Although I didn't know what to expect as the gun sounded to start my race here at Moody, these first few yards have certainly proved positive. I am excited that God has show me that He is glad that I'm here as He has demonstrated with all His wonderful blessings. All I can do now is to keep running strong and trust that Jesus will help me finish this race well. 

The Adventure Begins

I heard a great message the other day on how great God really is. We love to sing that song “How great is our God,” but I started thinking about that song. Is it a question? How Great is our God? Can we even begin to fathom his awesome majesty and power? Or is it a statement? Oh how great, is our God. He really is the almighty Lord over all the Universe. Or is it simply the only words that we can utter as we fall at his feet in total admiration? 

Our God is really is an awesome God, and I hope you and I don’t lose focus of that as we go about our lives. I almost lost sight of this foundational truth but God (being who he is) so graciously reminded me of his sovereign power and protection over all. 

As you know, in less then a week I start my life as a college student at MBI-Spokane. However about a month and a half ago, I didn’t total know for sure that I was. Well, I know that I wanted to, but I just wasn’t sure that it was going to actually happen. 

Just so you know where I’m taking this, I have made a pledge and want to make it official that I have vowed to go through college debt free. I have felt God’s leading in this  area because it encourages me to rely more on Jesus to provide for me financially (and it’s better off in the long run). Therefore, I can’t just whip out a couple thousand dollars from loans to pay for anything, I have to be patient and wait upon the Lord to provide for the things that I need. 

Now, back to the story. About a month and a half ago, I did not have the finances to attend my first semester of school. I knew whole heartedly that that was where God wanted me to be, but I was a little worried. Cue Bible Verses. 1 Peter 5:7 “ Cast your cares on him for he cares for you.” Philippians 4:6  “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present you requests to God.” So, I began to trust and pray that God would indeed provide for me. 

Spoiler Alert: This story ends well. ;)

All this to say, that the very day I opened my first semester bill, I was handed a check that put me well over the amount that I needed. Not only was this a wonderful reminder that God really will provide for me, but he does it in ways that I can not even begin to predict. So now as I head off to school in this coming week, I begin this adventure with joy, excitement, and courage knowing that Jesus is right by my side every step of the way.

So whether you say it as a question, statement, or all of the above all I have left to say is this:

How Great is our God

Why This Blog Exists

In today's media glistening lifestyle, blogs have become the icon of free speech and have given thousands of people the hope of being heard. There are blogs for multinational corporations, personal passions, and even for dogs. Hundreds of thousands of people write about a huge variety of subjects with one goal in mind: to be popular in the eyes of the public.

With this in mind, why am I starting a blog? Why do I even have the desire to write? Why should I even strive to be heard? Why do we, as human beings, even long to shine in a universe with billions of other stars? I'm not claiming to have the answers, but I do hope to shed some light on the subject.

We, as far as I can tell, strive to be significant because of sin. That's right. Blogs are just another temptation to be selfish and prideful and self-centered. Philippians 2:3 commands us to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vein conceit." Now don't get me wrong. I am not in anyway saying that blogs are of the devil or that they are the source of all evil. I'm just saying that when we write it should be done not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify the only important thing in our lives: Jesus Christ.

This blog, I hope will be different compared to your ordinary blog. Throughout the future posts, I write for one purpose and one goal: to share with you how God has revealed his power and love in my life, or to refer to the title of this blog, his appearing glory. All I want to do is glorify Jesus in everything I write. As I leave from being a more sheltered high schooler to being a more independent university student, I know that I will need to rely on my Lord and Savior more then ever. I have already vowed to trust him to provide for my physical, financial, and spiritual needs. I write this blog to share these beautiful moments when God blesses me more than I deserve.

And that is why this blog exists. To glorify God, and to hopefully bless you as I share with you how God has and will reveal his appearing glory in my life.