Sitting by myself on the gorgeous shores of Lake Malawi praying it up. I retreated to the shade of the trees. It’s a logical place to be- out of the hot African sun where it is lovely and cool (according to my internal thermometer, it is roughly 40 degrees cooler than standing in the sun).
(Wifi won’t let me upload pictures so you will have to use your imagination)
(Sweet picture of Lake Malawi)
Things were going well: prayers were good, God was showing me stuff, through my headphones worship from River Valley Church was making my ears smile, and Happy Coconut (our local friend) tried selling me some bracelets. There was something problematic with this nice little scenario though- I wasn’t getting all that God had for me. There was more for me than lounging on the rocks in the shade. I knew what God wanted from me… He was calling my pasty white ass into the sizzling sunlight. Didn’t God know that I could get burned?
(Picture of my… uh never mind)
I had just prayed that I wouldn’t deny His lead and I’m not one to break my word, at least not after five minutes. I was drawn out from the safety of the shadows to the sunny banks of the lake. The further from comfort I got and the closer I walked to the water, I felt God’s presence increase. It was intoxicating and I wasn’t going to stop there. I wanted to be closer to Him, so I took another step, another risk, and jumped to a nearby rock protruding out of the water. I wanted more, so I kept going. I hopped from rock to rock, going out as far as I could.
The beat in my headphones was building: “Take this life and break it, raising beauty from the ash. Jesus our salvation, Savior strong to lift us up.” Awww yeah. “Draw me back to Your love. Oh my God, You’re all I need. You’re all I want.” I plopped down on the tallest rock and delighted in being with Him, as the waves crashed around my watery perch. I needed to leave logic and comfort behind and take a risk to get where God wanted me. And once I was there, there was no place I would have rather been.
(Totally rad portrait of me sitting on a rock in the lake. Try to imagine it from a sweet perspective with me positioned in the corner of the photo or something like that)
“And I never would have thought, never would have thought life could be like this.”
God has placed a sense of expectancy in my heart and I am assured that great things are coming. I also know that I will have to take bigger risks than this if I want to obey Him. To live a Spirit-led life you have to be willing to say yes to whatever Jesus calls you to do. We can trust Him because He is the only One who fully knows the power that lies within us. Step into the light.
*Update: I wrote this blog partway through the month and now as I post this, God has used me in bringing back wayward sons to their Father, healing a homeless man of a migraine (he was on his way to beg for some medicine and I prayed for him on the side of the road), and encouraging believers in a Malawian prison. Jesus rules and I want you to know your prayers are being answered in a very real way. Keep ’em coming! “The best is yet to come!”
