To Abide in Him.
A reoccurring theme that I feel like has been on my heart during my time here in India is continuously abiding in the Lord. Like the verse we were told to have memorized during training camp last summer, John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me”. It’s easy to just go through the motions or perhaps allow distractions to come between you and your intimacy with God. Being on the mission field doesn’t prohibit any type of complacency or a lukewarm approach either. It can be quite challenging to wake up every day with a fiery passion for ministry and a desire to advance the Kingdom, but that’s when I must lean on the Lord and pray that the Holy Spirit gives me strength to not take anything for granted and to make the most out of my limited days here. Pray that I continue to abide in Him no matter the distractions or obstacles!
Eternal Mindset.
As I have now past the halfway point on my 9-month journey, it can be easy to look forward to the comforts of being back home. Whether that be the simplicity of life back in the States, the luxuries, friends/family, all the food I miss, entertainment, the list can go on and on.. this can be detrimental to my eternal perspective. When you understand that Jesus is the only thing everlasting, why would you ever want something temporary to come in between that? I understood this when beginning this journey and need to continue to remind myself. You must be willing to give it all up to follow Him. This shouldn’t just be my thought process for this particular season either, this should be something I should carry back home as well. A lifestyle! My eternity as well as other’s eternity are way too important than all the temporary things this world has to offer. Matthew 16:25 “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it”. Pray that I will continue to give it all to Him!
Prayer.
This has been the most convicting over the past month. My prayer life. I find it easy to get into the word and read scripture for hours a day, or listen to a sermon podcast, and even just have an intentional Jesus conversation with the community around me. But when it comes to my prayer life, to be completely honest I can sometimes struggle. I am so used to just making prayer be a few minute thing during various times in the day, but I need to learn to be able to just sit in the Lord’s presence and talk to Him however long need be. I have made this a priority in my morning routine while I drink a cup of coffee before devotions, and have seen much progress thus far. Pray that my prayer life continues to grow!
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog! I truly appreciate your support.
