There is so much I want to say and tell you about but it’s hard to put into words all that God is doing right now in my life and in the community around me. I’ve had so many people ask me what God is doing or what I’m feeling and I find myself, majority of the time, standing there not knowing how to explain the mess of feelings swirling around inside. Here is a little of what God has taught me this week:
I spent this past week with my whole squad at a beach called Jomtien in Pattaya for debrief, where we had time to relax and recharge, laugh and worship, and share what God had been showing all of us while we have been in Thailand. It was an amazing time of fellowship and teachings where God filled us back up and cast vision on what He had for all of us on this trip. We spent a lot of time focused on listening prayer and really hearing Gods voice but also making room for God to work and walking in the spirit always. Those two things really hit home and I realized I need to stop making excuses and truly start to fight for my relationship with Christ by giving him the time he deserves. Another thing God has been putting on my heart lately is the act of sacrifice and being tested.
I was given Genesis 22 to read while I was at debrief and it really shed light on how God uses our willingness to give up the things we desire for His honor. Abraham was tested by God to see if he was truly willing to give up something he loved so dearly, his own son. When Abraham showed that he would sacrifice what he loved and wanted for what the Lord was asking, he was blessed immensely by Christ, more than Abraham could imagine. Like a silversmith who tests it’s silver, God also tests us. He tests us so that we can be strengthened in Him, trust Him more, and so our character can develop to be more like Him. It’s not an easy, quick process but an ongoing process where God constantly asks us to lay things down, become uncomfortable, and give up what we “love” to become more like him in return. God has been pressing this onto my heart with many things lately and the more I look to Him the more He makes known the reward on the other side.
I am in a season where God is asking me “Will you lie that down for me?” and as I stand in fear and in the unknown, willingly I am learning to say, “yes Lord, it is yours”.
Keep my team/squad and I in your prayers as we spend our last 8 days in Thailand before heading over to Cambodia! Pray that in these last days we can make an amazing impact on this place and that God’s light with be shown. Pray that we continue to grow in him and together. Pray for peace and safety into this next season in Cambodia. Thank you so much for the prayers and support!
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” -Isaiah 48:10
