I was listening to the radio the other day and the host of the show brought up these 3 guys from the book of Daniel in the Bible; Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. I remember watching the Veggie Tales movie about them and hearing their story in Sunday school and I thought I knew it pretty well. It’s funny the way you hear and see things different as you grow up. If you have never heard of them, these three men lived with a crazy big faith in a time wear believing in God wasn’t normal and worshipping statues, kings and other gods was. They were captives in Babylon who were called up by the King to serve him, but still lived their lives for God. Their story is so incredible and it goes on to show that they trusted God so much that they went into a fiery furnace and knew, if He willed it, God would save them. That itself is great faith, but what gets me every time is when they said ‘but even if He doesn’t, He is still good’. Even if he didnt save them they still trusted him fully, so much so they were willing to step inside a FURNACE because of the faith they had in God. I get goosebumps thinking about how incredible it is that they lived like that. I think about my life and how many times I haven’t done something because I was afraid. I think about the many times I believed my plans were greater than Gods plans or all the times I have failed because of my stubbornness and trying to do it all alone. I think of the times that I let God down but he still showed up in my life and it is mind blowing.
Currently I am preparing to go on the World Race starting January. I am crazy excited but one of my biggest struggles has come from feeling unworthy and I think that sometimes comes from a lack of trust in Him. I keep thinking about why He would choose me, what makes me good enough. Obviously I am not perfect but God doesn’t always use perfect people or the ones that have it all together. He uses the broken and unequipped so that we can lean into him and trust him to fully equip us for what is ahead. I think that’s what he did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and I believe that’s what he is doing with me.
I have been praying for years for an opportunity to do something more, to be sent out and when I least expected it he gave me what I had been craving. Now every part of me wants to constantly have that big faith that they, and so many others had. God is healing my brokenness and has been showing me how much of a difference I can make. He has shown me that there is so much power in a moment, in a prayer, and in the choices we make. I feel so humbled that I have the chance to spend moments all over the world sharing the goodness of Gods grace and love with people from all walks of life. Going on the World Race has been so influential in my life and I haven’t even left yet. I am just so in awe of the things God is revealing to me during this incredible journey so far. So like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego I will not waiver in my faith and I am not going to be afraid, but rather trust that my God knows best and will always be there even in the most unexpected of ways.
