kingdom decisions

beloved reader,

thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my words. i always feel a great sense of responsibility when i write about things in my life, so know i’ve prayerfully considered what i’d write for you all. Because my life, our lives, are about pointing to the King, i pray as you read further that God stirs things up in your heart and reveals himself to you in a unique way.

…

well, i’m writing to you from Okinawa Japan. i’m most likely one day ahead of you due to the time zone differences and so my day is the complete opposite of yours, which is crazy to me. i am here playing baseball this season for the Tokyo Giants and i am still fairly shocked that i am here right now.

chance and i connected from being former vandyboys and sharing a love for Jesus. he had asked me a few months ago about writing up a blog post, and i knew i wanted to wait until i got settled into Japan to really see what God wanted me to write about.

i love writing and journaling about a lot of things, baseball being one of them as its been such a large part of my life. i could write about so many different things.

baseball has taken me all over the world, and that is something that still amazes me to this day. i am truly in awe at the way God has revealed Himself to me through this game. there’re things i could write about for days and days, and maybe one day i will, but for now i’ll speak on making the decision to come here.

it’s hard to explain. i feel a lot of peace as my fingers type away at the keyboard. my family, 4.5-month-old son, and wife are 6000 miles away…they are everything to me and i am here, playing baseball, apart from them for a little while longer.

so, why so much peace?

well, I feel closer to the ONE who called me here more than ever before. And that alone brings me peace – that alone brings me comfort.

it wasn’t the original plan, it never was. i believe i can still play at the MLB level, and i have faith that i will make it back. but how often do things ever go according to our plans and desires? at first, coming here seemed like just a chance to continue to play baseball at a rather high level, and for me i knew i needed an opportunity like this to prove i still have what it takes. all of that is valid, but there had to be more to it in order for me to decide to play baseball in a foreign country. i’d be away from family for a while, and away from community and fellow believers. Japan has a population of only 1% Christians, and so i’d be fairly isolated from any bit of normalcy or acceptance around my faith in Jesus. so, why did i choose to come here?

that was the question, and situation, my wife and i found ourselves in when we were given 48 hours to make this life altering decision.

we prayed. made calls, prayed, changed diapers…prayed. repeat!

i remember reading Exodus 33 late that first night.

no sleep… lets read Exodus i thought!

for the Israelites it was a good news/bad news situation. the good news was that the Israelites were still going to the Promised Land, even after the great sin of the golden calf. the bad news was that God wasn’t going with them. “go up to the land flowing with milk and honey,” He said. “but I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way” (Exod. 33:3). it was just too dangerous. in His holiness, God might have to destroy the Israelites for their sin.

when the people heard this, they cried tears of repentance and tore off the emblems of their idolatry. then they waited to see what God would do. would He stay with them, or would He send them off on their own?

while the Israelites were waiting to find out, Moses went to meet with God.

Exodus 33:12-15

“Moses said to the LORD, “see, You say to me, ‘bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’

now therefore, if i have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that i may know You in order to find favor in Your sight. consider too that this nation is Your people.”

and He said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

And he said to Him, “if Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here."

as we see, the main thing we need to learn from Moses is the way he points us to salvation in Christ. but the prophet also sets an example for our journey in the faith. as we seek to do what God has called us to do, we should pray the way Moses prayed. we should ask God to go with us and to give us intimate knowledge of Him. back in Egypt, Moses had learned (the hard way) how futile it was to do things in his own strength. what we do will only be successful if God is in it. so, whenever we do something God has called us to do—whether it is spending a year in Japan, serving Him in a season of waiting or transition, learning how to parent, working a job, or getting involved in ministry—we need to pray that God will go with us to bless us. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain. as Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

at this stage of my life, and career, i really desire to make an impact. i want there to be personal growth daily, and i want to learn the ways in which i can improve at my craft. more than that, i want to grow in my faith and knowledge of the Lord. so, praying for God to be with me is something i pray daily. “Lord i invite you into my day, i desire for you to be in the details and reveal yourself to me in every circumstance. give me eyes to see, ears to hear and the words to say that will advance your Kingdom. Amen!”

the truth that shall comfort us is that God is with us wherever we go, if we desire to invite Him in to the circumstances we are in. God’s desire is to partner with you and walk through your own unique journey together with you, wherever He may be leading you. 

i thought the decision i was praying through was a baseball decision, but ultimately the decision i was praying through was a Kingdom decision. the One who sits upon the throne has divinely commissioned this opportunity for His glory and honor, and i knew the decision was a decision of obedient faith to follow His calling in my life.

i pray for Him to do infinitely more than i can think or imagine during my time here. that is something i trust deep within my heart that He will do because there is evidence all over my life of Him doing that time and time again in the past. therefore, i have faith that He will work through me during my time here because i have prayed, like Moses, that His presence would come with me each step of the way.

if you desire to follow along on my journey in Japan this season don’t hesitate to find me on social media and reach out. i would love to share in my experiences even more in order to shine a light on what God has done in my life through the game of baseball.

may God bless you beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

-n0tbytyler