We went to Thai church today. There were chairs to sit on, a
worship band with singer, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, and keyboard.
They sang songs we know in English, but they know in Thai including hymns and
contemporary songs. After the service, they serve food and they do every
Sunday!
There was about 30 members at the service, about half of
them showed up an hour late.
My team went to the front to introduce ourselves and sing
one song, and then some of us would share our testimony. We sang, So Good to
Me, one of my favorites because of the Camp memories I have from it.
The night before I felt God telling me to share my story of
how I got to the World Race. But, I didn’t want to. I felt like I didn’t have
anything to say and my story wasn’t going to mean anything to anyone. This
morning, I still didn’t want to and I didn’t know if God was still leading me
too. But after two of my teammates told their stories, I knew I was supposed to
share mine.
I started talking about how I got to Adventures in Missions,
the plan I had for myself and my internship and how I was disappointed in God
for letting me down after not getting the internship I wanted. During that time
I didn’t understand why God would do that and I asked him why. Then I read
Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 40, which is what God showed me:
God had planned
something better for us so that only together with us would they be made
perfect.
**If you want to hear
the whole story of how I got the Adventures in Missions and how I got to the
World Race, you can read my first few blogs, they have all the details. That’s
not the point right now.
Mom, Dad, and Chase – please notice my cob. I have finally mastered eating my corn on the cob like mom!!!
As I was speaking to these people, God showed me something I
had been missing in this verse, actually the whole chapter.
If you haven’t read Hebrews 11 in a while, I’d suggest doing
so. It’s one of my favs. The chapter is talking about all these people who
stepped out and into obedience in following the Lord. Some of the stories are
briefly retold, but most aren’t.
God promised these people something when they obeyed him,
but verse 13 says, “…They did not receive the things promised; they only saw
them and welcomed them from a distance.�
And in verse 39 it says, “These were all commended for their
faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.�
I never understood why they didn’t receive what they
were promised. They stepped out in faith and obeyed; they listened to God and
did what he asked even when it looked dumb or impossible. And when I was
telling my story to the church today, I finally realized why.
Looking at my life in December and now, 9 months later, I can
see how much I have grown. I can see what God has asked me to do and how I
obeyed with resistance. I can see how the plans I made myself for my
internship and future were not as good as God’s. He has shown me how much I have
accomplished for his kingdom throughout my Race.
God promises that we will see the fruit of the labor of our
hands (Psalm 128:2), but he never says when or how. And that’s it. That’s what
God revealed to me as why they never received what he promised.
Again, verse 40 says, “God had planned something better for
us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.� Notice the ‘us’
in that sentence. That means me and you and those people from those stories. He had planned something
better for us, so that only together
with us would they (everything) be
made perfect.
They saw us from a
distance (verse 13). They knew God had us
in mind. They were waiting on us,
on me. And I will wait on the
generations behind me. This is what God wanted to reveal to me, even when I was
speaking.
I didn’t explain all of this to them, only in one sentence
or two, but I got it in my head and heart.
Courtney, Oo, and I had a jam session after church. We broke all the social norms of Thailand by singing loudly and showing emotions by laughing loud… oops. We created a band name, Oo and The Prettys. Behind us is the base player, pianist, and Lizi who plays the tambourine.
I continued on with my story and shared about how I heard
from God for the first time and continued with listening and hearing his voice.
I ended with this. “God says ask and I will give the nations
to you (Psalm 2:8). If you want the nations, just ask for them. He’ll give them
to you.�
