Beunos Dias (good day) Amigas and amigos…
WOW! What a crazy few months it has been filled with tons of laughter and adventure, frustrations and prayer, long bus trips and
flights to very interesting places, and as usual God has blown us away with His awesomeness. Here is a little glimpse into the madness.
Three weeks of madness in brazil: surfing, walking, riding, exploring the town, going to church (A LOT), late nights, laughing, eating, drinking Café com leite, living in a 2 bedroomed house with 14 people, developing relationships, sharing things, lives, and the word, dancing, acting, worshipping and sharing the gospel.
Two weeks of insane manliness in Fusagasuga Colombia, literally getting down to earth and seriously dirty, all the while getting to know our team mates better, listening to good music and praying that our favourite musicians would come to know the Lord (of course among very many other things).
Then an epic trip through the amazon (which was a real faith builder for all of us… God has a real creative way of blowing our minds and expectations!) only to find that that was merely the beginning…
Peru, three weeks of stepping out of comfort zones and leaping in faith. Being an occupational therapist again in the very under resourced city of Chiclayo (I was the ONLY occupational therapist there!), doing schools ministry, dramas, distributing bibles and preaching (had the honour of preaching the word on Easter Sunday!), then lived the dream taking the gospel to unreached tribes in the Andes mountains sometimes having to hike up 8 hours- seeing God do crazy things like heal the blind and deaf and see people’s lives transformed by the gospel.
In short i guess: living life God’s way. OK so here´s a bit about what our DAD has been teaching me…
What an adventure life really is, and the best part is that the discovery of this has not been through the travelling and seeing new places thing (although that helps of course), but rather the discovery of the treasure that lies in His truth! More and more I am convinced that His truth (which I am learning is a revelation of His character) is foundational to EVERYTHING! And the more that I delve in the more He unveils His extraordinary character and the extraordinary plans He has for us, His kids.
Whilst reading Deuteronomy God really impressed on my heart the need for obedience and that this is really the only response that demonstrates our love for Him. More and more I realized that actually this is also for our own benefit and as I walk in obedience gradually i learn those things for myself: that God is who he says he is and does what he says He’ll do. From studying these scriptures God revealed this: that he asks us to study his word, to live in his truth all the days of our life. He asks this because by doing this we will learn to fear Him (because we can only revere Him if we know who He is and we can only do this if through His truth He reveals himself- which He does!). and from reverence flows humility and obedience, humility because we realize who we are in perspective of who God is, and obedience because we will see his heart to bless us and our need of Him. The more His character is revealed the more his intentions are understood and the more we will recognise that God asks us to do things for a specific purpose and that because he loves us those purposes are always good and will always bless us (though we may not recognize them as blessings- especially when they come in the form of suffering, as they often times do). So if we know truth and live in it, it transforms us. It causes us to realize who we are in perspective of who he is and when we know this we cannot boast in our own ability but only in the victory that Christ brings us.
This then brings me to another truth that God has been rooting in my heart. That life in abundance starts here on earth (eph 1: 13-2:10). The greatest miracle is not only that we have eternal life in heaven but that God is transforming us on earth and that the kingdom of heaven is accessible on earth. The best thing is that because Jesus conquered sin and death He not only gave us the promise of eternal life, he also gave us the promise of a life of abundance here on earth, a life with purpose, a life lived in communion with Him! He is the definition of joy, peace and love, so though life may not entail abundance in terms of money and possession, or fame and fortune there will always be an abundance of Him. What more could we want! So basically there is a fullness that we can step into while we are still on earth because we have been sealed with the Holy spirit! Thanks Lord!
As God started rooting this truth in my heart faith began becoming practical and real for me because as we trusted Him and walked in the promises He gave us we began to see miracles. This was insane! Yet the bible is pretty clear that miracles are just the outflow of the lifestyle and the proclamation of truth so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. But boy did it explode my mind and break my heart again! Through this though I also realized that the most incredible miracle is not a mute boy speaking or the provision of food in extreme circumstances (these are definitely awesome as they reveal God’s character) but the restoration of a child to The Father. Ultimately everything boils down to God’s heart to be reconciled to His kids! I am slowly but surely understanding what paul meant when he said that he was not ashamed of the gospel for IT is the power to save!
So I guess that you can understand why I say that the newness of being a here (Guatemala), in a foreign country, doing what I have always dreamed of doing, and the excitement of the unknown has not even nearly faded! Yes some very serious doubts have set in on many occasions about whether I’m cut out for this and whether I want to die to self and continue to let God transform me. But God continues to remind me that it’s not about me and that if my focus is continually on Him that He will do the work. My purpose is to sit as His feet and worship, so close that when He moves he’ll kick me so that I know where He is going and what he is doing. There are a few things that have definitely been cemented in my mind and are being rooted in my heart until my actions are finally transformed. Saying this, I can only thank God that He is gracious and loving beyond measure!
Having said all this I’ll leave you with this quote that really does sum it all up.
“true spiritual understanding is not an achievement of the intellect but the divine reward for love and obedience.” Elizabeth Elliot & nbsp;
God has really shattered my perceptions of missions and what being a missionary really means and has shown me that it is a lifestyle thing. So whether you are washing the dishes, sitting behind a computer or climbing a mountain to distribute the word of God you are called to a lifestyle of worship! You are called to a life of abundance! That abundance lies in and is proportional to your nearness to Our DAD. Cos that’s the best part isn’t it? The King of kings wants to be in relationship with us and has done everything to make it possible!
Thank you Lord!
Comments