"Upstream Mobility"

"I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers." (Psalms 89:25)
Don't ask, because I have no clue sometimes what I am doing, nor do I know where this is actually going; I'm just alone for the ride. As I was praying about what God would speak to my heart about, I could not help but think of that bumper sticker that says, "Go against the flow," and shows a single fish going one way, while all the other fish are headed to the other direction. In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he instructs Timothy to 'Stir up your gifts God has given you.' To be perfectly honest, I did not really understand what that actually meant; I could not quite figure out how we can stir something up, except maybe to somehow mix it up with the world. Maybe that is exactly what Paul meant; that Timothy was to take the gifts God had given him, and he was to mix those gifts into his everyday life, into his everyday encounters with the world. Paul went to tell Timothy that "God has not given a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I don't think that it is an accident when we have chance encounters with the world. God opens doors, and God closes doors; but in every opportunity that God gives us, we must be prepared to give a testimony of what Jesus has done. It does not have to be all that much, but it needs to flow out of us and into the world. Maybe our life can make a difference in the life of someone just by a smile, or a simple act of kindness; and then again, maybe God will lead us to share His word, or to pray for someone. That is what I see taking place; it's not so much that we do the opposite of everyone else, but more that our direction is all about life! If you actually consider what that means, it is a picture of the world all going in one direction, which is that of death and destruction, while our direction is that of eternal life. There are some within our stream that are bound to turn around and follow, if not but for a moment...
"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about the Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time -to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News." (2 Timothy 1:6-10) NLT