Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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Before I started the Race, I naively thought these 11 months would provide me with some much needed time and space to truly focus on and connect with God. I thought that I would now be free from so many of the distractions that often keep me from reading my Bible or talking to God more regularly.

In some ways, I am free from previous distractions. However, the ones left behind have simply been replaced by new ones….new faces, new routines and new outlets. Even the best of things can begin to shift that scale of balance when poured out in excess. From ministry work and developing relationships to connecting with loved ones back home and diving into my team, I’ve begun to feel the impact of the uneven distribution of weight upon my own “scale.” 

I hit a point this month where my personal time with God was taking a backseat to everything else, including my ministry here in Vietnam. I then realized why I had been feeling so weary and dissatisfied, despite all of the fruitful work with the students and locals. 

It was about this time that I went out to journal for a bit and pick back up on my daily reading of the Bible. I ended up sitting on some rocks, looking out into the beautiful blue waters here, and I felt this instant sense of peace and calm come over me.

During training camp and launch, I discovered that one of my main ways of connecting with God is through nature. So, it is no surprise that I am able to easily reflect on God and His glory when taking in His creation. This time was different though.

I felt such a sense of joy looking out over the mountains, waves and rocks. As I sat there, I grabbed my Bible to continue on with my reading plan, but when I touched it, my thoughts immediately shifted. It’s hard to explain, but it’s as if I heard my own voice (though not my own thoughts) saying to forget the plan and go to the book of Psalms. So, I opened my Bible and the first page there was in the book of Psalms! My eyes immediately fell on Chapter 8:

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
 
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
 
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
 
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
 
It is hard to describe why these verses were so impactful to me in that moment, but it was literally as if God and I were having a conversation with one another. I was sitting there, finally focusing on just Him and His creation, aware of His creativity and majesty. This is the exact moment when He sent me to these words which speak of His glory and how much He values us. 
 
My soul was filled with such a sense of joy, comfort and gratefulness that God would choose to speak to me in such an obvious way, despite my recent neglect of Him. That moment reminded me that God is always speaking to His children, but it is often in that still, small voice. That voice can be drowned out rather easily by this world and all the people/things within it, but it can just as easily be heard when you quiet and humble yourself before the Holy Spirit. 
 
His presence and glory can be seen in so many places and things and He desires for us to experience Him in these ways. We simply must have eyes that see and ears that hear.