“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”- Chuck Swindoll
Impossible. Before I surrendered to God and said yes to the World Race, I thought the whole trip was impossible. I thought there was no way God would call ME to do something like THAT. I was terribly wrong.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”-Matthew 19:26
These past couple of months, I have experienced mixed emotions about leaving all I know for a world I know nothing about. One day I was driving home from work and God painted a beautiful picture of my emotions with His creation. It was pouring down rain; however, the sun was peaking through the clouds, shining as bright as it possibly could. That’s how I felt. Extremely excited, but at the same time scared. Two polar opposite feelings pouring out at the same time. But just how the rain falling out of the same clouds that were playing peek-a-boo with the radiant sun created such a beautiful picture, was how my emotions were for me. Beautiful. Beauty in the chaos. Beauty in the brokenness.
With that said, it has been difficult facing this journey knowing that not all I would come in contact with would agree with my choice to go on the World Race. It has been hard not receiving affirmation from those who I thought would be happy for me. The Lord was quick to remind me that His voice is all that I needed to listen to and that He is still the one that sits on the throne.
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.-Psalms 103:19
I would like to tell you that was all I needed to affirm in me that I was suppose to go on this trip. That was great…but I needed more. I asked the Lord if he would send me something, anything, to encourage me in making the right choice. I asked Him for a “God-ordained” moment. And you know what? That is exactly what I received.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.-1 John 5:14
I had been having issues with my cell phone and so I decided to take it in after work one day. As I am talking to the woman about my phone, this man walks up to get his daughter’s phone worked on, too. He had a sweet presence about him. We made small talk, while the lady was working on my phone. He then walked up to me and started a conversation. He asked me what I did for a living, so I told him I was a High School Girls’ Intern at a local church. His face lit up with a huge smile, as he shouted, “AMEN! I am family. I knew we must have been related.” This man was a sweet brother in Christ. He then told me how he was a pastor and about a ministry he started. One thing led to another and I was able to talk about the World Race with him. It was the best affirmation I could have ever received. He spoke truth into my life that night. I told him how he was an answered to prayer and he told me how the Holy Spirit had urged him to start a conversation with me. He gave me a huge hug and prayed over me.
“Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see.”- Corrie Ten Boom
I’m thankful to serve a God that is just and His word alone is what matters, but I am also thankful that he is a loving Father that cares for his children, even when they doubt what He has already confirmed.
