This month our team is partnering with a local ministry in Cambodia called “Lighthouse Battambang.” We have been staying at a children’s home with 25 high school students and simply, do life with them. We start by waking up every morning at 4:45 for a morning workout. When the students head off to school we help with construction throughout the day. We have been able to build an outdoor dish washroom/kitchen space that allows more space for the students and staff to wash dishes as well as help with cooking efficiency. Cristin and the rest of the women on our team are teaching English class throughout the week in the afternoon. They have an intermediate class at 1:00 and an advanced class at 6:00.
Another one of my favorite things about lighthouse is the Sunday evening service. As a family we meet every Sunday for a youth ministry night for all the students. Our first weekend here they asked us to lead the worship, testimony, games, and preaching. This Sunday I volunteered to preach. While I was praying about what to preach on, I remembered I prepared a sermon three months prior in India. It was on the parable of the lost son. I remember being extremely excited about what the Lord put on my heart and I really wanted to share it. I kept looking for opportunities to preach, but it just never came about. I ended up forgetting about it and kind of tucked it away until this particular Sunday.
As I got up and shared with the students I noticed the translator, a man that leads the staff at lighthouse, was pausing some as he was translating. I accredited it to my accent and didn’t think much about it until he approached me after the service. He explained to me that this was a very moving message for him. He said usually his foster daughter, a student at lighthouse, would typically get up and leave if family was ever the topic in a sermon or lesson. But he explained to me that she was so engaged, as were so many of the other students. He was extremely moved by their open hearts. He shared it was even difficult for him to translate because he was getting choked up. In that moment I? was just in awe of God’s prefect timing. This sermon that he put on my heart in India wasn’t meant for India at all. He was equipping me to share this lesson in Cambodia.
It’s easy for us to question, doubt, and even become frustrated with Gods timing. I felt that way with this sermon. I was so excited about it, and I wondered why the Lord would lay something on my heart to preach, then never give me the opportunity to do so. God is a God of perfect timing, this message was meant for this family of students in the middle of Battambang, Cambodia. And the beautiful thing is, the Lord knew this all along.
Sometimes, it so easy to put our own timeline on our life and then question why the Lord is not doing things the way we planned. If we only embraced the Lords timing and realized how beautiful his plan was, we would never doubt his purpose. No matter what season of life you may be in, have faith that the Lord’s timing and plan is one that he hand-picked for you because he has a purpose for it, even if that might be hard to believe right now.
