Walking into Africa, I did not know what to expect…but I obviously had expectations as usual because it sure was NOT what I expected.
In Mozambique, the Lord revealed the fear and anxiety that has plagued me for years, exposing it in order to free me from it.
Then in Malawi, the Lord provided me the opportunity to put feet to my faith in Him and to walk into the freedom His love grants us. He spoke through me to bring freedom to the captives. He afforded me the opportunity to laugh in the face of my giants as I proclaimed His Truth about my fears.
“…perfect love casts out all fear…” 1 John 4:18
And He finally convinced me that He has created me to counsel and to teach, which was apparently obvious to most except me.
“…Teach and counsel each other with the wisdom he gives…” Colossians 3:16
You would think that a degree in counseling would convince me, but I continued to fight it until He brought my team face to face with a married couple in Malawi that were in need of marriage counseling. And as my team began to look to me, I inwardly screamed, “I can’t do this! What the heck are you thinking bringing me here to do this, Lord!? I have no idea what I’m doing!” To which He responded with, “That is precisely why I brought you here…so that you will forfeit your belief that you can live without me. You can’t do this on your own. You need me. You need me…”
I still thought I could live without Him. If you remember way back at the beginning of this journey, I wrote a blog about Him not being enough for me…and I realize that I was still trying to be enough for me. Trying to do it on my own, relying on my own strength to minister, to love and to serve.
And then He brought me to a new level of surrender.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
