Going to Turkey was different for many of us. Some enjoyed not knowing where to go, what to do or what God has planned for us there. We only knew that He wants us to serve but the question was who first. The first guess was the refugees. Makes sense…they need help… we are here to serve… so we aimed for them, but it was like shooting a moving target in the dark. We heard so many rumours about where they are or should be but arriving only to see a lack of people to serve…
Praying to God for direction was of coarse our immediate ‘go to strategy’, hoping for a place to serve was the answer so that we could feel useful to some degree, well at least that’s how I felt. It wasn’t long after, we all started to pray for some direction. He gave us an answer: I thought He was going to say “go and serve the refugees/the poor/people of Turkey” but like we all know by now, He sees thing differently than us and has a much better point of view than us. So He said something we as Northbound 2016 have forgotten along the way (well I felt like I did): we got caught up in serving other people and forgot to serve one another in our family. Things like that happen to all of us in life. We get our heads set on one thing and let other things fly by without comprehending its importance; like our earthly goals ,opportunities ,desires and temptations keeps us away from our family and friends but it mostly keeps us from God……
But why are these things happening to us and why does God not keep our minds on Him, and Him alone. There are probably hundreds of answers to that question that we can think of from the top of our heads. Many that will ring true and bring clarity to the question but one stands out for me: FREE WILL. Most will agree with me. Some will say there is no such thing as free will but that’s not the debate for now. Things like this happen to us because the devil knows us better than we know ourselves. Not better than God of course, but the devil had up to now had more than 6000 year to study humans and what makes us tic and drive, and he noticed that nothing keeps us from God better than ourselves. So he uses that, filling our lust to succeed and granting our desires to keep us focused in ourselves and what we can achieve. So we don’t feel a need for God, a need for His love and insurance. But when that fails he makes us narrow minded and singular focused, so that we can’t stop to think ‘what does God want from me’. That’s why it’s important to pray to God on a regular base so that the devil can’t easily distract us from God’s will. God’s focus is not on one thing, it’s on everything that is and will be. So if you’re ever afraid that you’re not on the right path to God, just tune in to the Holy Spirit and let the wonder of His glory consume you and your thoughts. Then you will start seeing a tougher road, but a tougher road leading to a bigger and better future…….