Lina AbuJamra - Stripped: When Gods Call Turns From Yes! to Why Me?

If you have ever wondered why the road you travel with Christ has taken a sudden, unexpected turn, this book will be a companion to you. If you have longed for more of Christ yet found yourself stripped of all you thought you knew, this book will be a lighthouse in the darkness. If you have been tempted to quit, read on. You are not alone and the real adventure is just beginning.

SHEILA WALSH, author and teacher

Stripped will stir you up to live for Jesus Christ with greater resolve and focus than ever. Lina writes from her heart. She is able to communicate Gods Word with purposeful clarity and God-given anointing. If youve ever felt called by God but find yourself daunted by the unexpected difficulty of the road, get ready for some answers.

CHRISTINE CAINE, author of Undaunted and cofounder of the A21 Campaign

In her raw and relevant book Stripped, my friend Dr. Lina reveals the often painful yet necessary process God uses to prepare us to be vessels that carry His glory. Read it and be remade!

LISA BEVERE, author and speaker

2013 by
LINA ABUJAMRA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Edited by Bailey Utecht
Interior design: Ragont Design
Cover design: DogEared Design, LLC
Cover image: iStockphoto
Author photo: Caroline Wasko

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

AbuJamra, Lina.
Stripped : when Gods call turns from yes! to why me? / Lina AbuJamra.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8024-0965-2
1. SubmissivenessReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. VocationChristianity.
I. Title.
BV4647.A25A28 2013
248.4--dc23

2013016132

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To my brothers and sisters in Christ who have answered the call to be stripped without ever looking back.

I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

It is doubtful God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply. A. W. TOZER

M y story is as clich as it gets.

It was a perfect Wisconsin summer night. The moon was radiant. The ripple of a distant creek echoed in the silence. The air was warm enough to leave my jacket behind but cool enough to breathe. It was summer camp at its best. Parents felt millions of miles away and decisions could be made without the distractions of lesser things.

I dont remember exactly what the preacher said on that particular night, but I can still smell the rock that I stood on as I gazed upward and felt closer to God than Id ever felt before. And in that moment I knew that my life was forever changed.

No more living for myself. No more personal agendas and temporary gains. No more questions without answers and independent days. It was like color suddenly burst into my life for the first time, and I was no longer the same.

I should probably explain a few things to you that had led up to that dramatic point in my life. I was by no means new to Christianity. I was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and dont remember a time in my life when I didnt know about Jesus.

One of my earliest childhood memories was the night I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Savior. Looking back, Im sure I did it mostly out of fear, but who can blame a seven-year-old for wanting to escape the burning heat of hell? The truth is that I really did like this Jesus I had heard so much about in Sunday school, and if He had died to buy my way into heaven, then I was more than willing to sign up.

Some people believe in love at first sight. They claim to tumble head over heels in love with someone at first glance. Others swear that love comes softly, unexpectedly, even quietly. My love for Jesus Christ was a little bit of both.

For years Christ had quietly but persistently beckoned me to Him until I finally tumbled head over heels in love with Him on that warm Wisconsin summer night. I was only sixteen years old but old enough to know that my life would never be the same again. Jesus loved me despite my sin. He was alive, and He lived in me. But more than that, He was crying out my name, declaring me His own. He loved me. He knew everything about me and still chose me. My heart had finally found its home.

That night was a turning point for me. It was the night I gave the reins of my life over to God. I wanted, even longed for God to lead me where He wanted me to go. I was on top of the world with Jesus as my guide and the future in His sight. I not only wanted to live for God, but as I stood on that rock, I wanted to climb steep mountains for Him and proclaim His name from the highest peaks for the whole world to hear.

God had wrecked me forever with His love, and I was ready for the adventure to begin. With God on my side, what could ever go wrong?

Little did I know that the worst was yet to come.

I work in an ER, so my life work is taking care of people facing crises. By far and above, the most common response people give me when facing a crisis of significant magnitude is this: I didnt see it coming. Ask the parents whove just been told their six-year-old daughter has leukemia, or the fourteen-year-old teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy. Few people predict the unexpected turbulence ahead. Lives that are filled with blissful joy today can suddenly become bumpy and hard, but few people make plans that take into account the impossible road that is sure to come.

A careful consideration of each situation should indicate otherwise. There are always red flags along the way. There is always some writing on the wall predicting the obstacles ahead, but we rarely pay attention to them.

As I stood on that rock on that warm summer night, little could I have predicted what was to come in my life. I certainly did not anticipate the stripping that would follow. Instead of peaks and mountains, I would become familiar with the pits and the valleys. Instead of victories and successes, I would soon learn how to survive the battle that would rage on every front. As the moon smiled down on my head, little could I have predicted the sin that would continue to plague me, and the scars that would one day distinguish me as a follower of Jesus Christ. But most of all, I could not have predicted the pain of Christs call. No one plans on a journey through pain, yet pain is often the road that God chooses to purify His children.