Distputing fear

I’m running…and running..but I can’t run fast enough. They’re always behind me..chasing me... closing in on me. They get closer. I scream...

and then I wake up.  

It’s always the same. I wake up just before they catch me.  These are the dreams that haunt my sleep whenever I think of returning to Africa. My fear has become the enemies tool to slow God’s plan with me.

     But I will not be defeated.  There is a stubbornness in me that  refuses to be trampled down. God has called me for a reason and no matter how scared I am, I refuse to let Satan stop me. 

     I think of those little arms that entwine themselves around my neck. The sad eyes that long for love; the millions of orphans around the world that have no hope and I'm filled with anger and determination. 

    I remember the joy I felt while being there, fulfilling God's plan. There was so much love in my heart I thought it would burst as I held those hurting children and brought laughter to their hearts as I loved them.  I think of how God's grace transformed their lives and brought hope back into their hearts. These are the thoughts that sustain my call. These are the memories that spur my determination not to be hampered. 

 

 

When I'm in Africa I experience a whole new measure of joy. I just need to say no to fear and yes to the nudge in my heart. One day I will stand once more upon that red dirt with the warm breeze on my face. I will hear their laughter and will feel His presence like I only do when in His perfect plan. When that day comes and I hear His summons, I'll gather every ounce of faith that I possess and throw fear to the wind. No matter how scared or small I feel, I will go. For this I know: God won't send me where His grace can't protect me. I'm never alone; there is nowhere I'll go that He won't be.

“For the glory of God!”

Catching a glimpse of heaven

Over the last 2 years God has really been challenging me on where my faith is. As I’ve learned to be on the lookout for Him, I’ve also learned to see the things He does in my life. But I continue to miss the acts that matter most; those small and “insignificant” things that God does in my life for great purpose. Those are the things that I need to see and learn from, so I've spent the last 2 years on a Godhunt, trying to recognize when He does little things in my life. I see now that all those little things He does and the lessons I learn from them, are for the purpose of revealing more of who He is to me.

Two years ago I set out to simply to learn to recognize the little things He was doing in my life.  That year I learned that He is truly Jehovah-Jireh. 

    Last year I sought to see what He was teaching me about who He is to me personally. I learned just how much He is truly my Shepherd.

    This year I’m trying something new. I’ve started a “glimpse of heaven jar.”  This jar is a place to record my prayers, spiritual lessons, trials, times of receiving comfort from the Lord, the times I saw God’s hand at work and the things that impacted my spiritual life in 2014.  This jar stands as a challenge to me, challenging me to live in active pursuit of God by searching for Him in my daily life.

    Likewise, I encourage you to do whatever it takes in 2014 to draw nearer to our Father. Whether it's a jar to record God's work or simply upping your prayer life, I pray that you will be actively seeking God. Let us make 2014 the year of personal revival in each of us, the year that we draw closer to Him than ever before!

May God be seen by each of us for how great He really is!!

 

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Deuteronomy 4:29

"For the glory of God!"