Romans
8:28-“And we know that in all things God works together for the
good of those who love Him.”
8:28-“And we know that in all things God works together for the
good of those who love Him.”
I
have been living in East Africa for two and a half months now. I
know that I haven’t blogged much; it may have appeared that I
completely fell off the face of the earth but God has been doing
something in my life and I didn’t fully understand what it was
until two days ago.
have been living in East Africa for two and a half months now. I
know that I haven’t blogged much; it may have appeared that I
completely fell off the face of the earth but God has been doing
something in my life and I didn’t fully understand what it was
until two days ago.
May
2011-Kitale, Kenya
2011-Kitale, Kenya
My
stay in Kenya consisted of a lot of spiritual and physical attack. I
had malaria and typhoid during my time there and Satan used my
weakness to his advantage. It was like all joy that I had in the
Lord had been sucked out of my body and a spirit of self pity set in.
I no longer was loving my teammates well or putting them before
myself. I sank into a pit of pessimism and began to listen to the
lies of the enemy rather than the truths of the Lord. Instead of
finding joy in my circumstances I found death.
stay in Kenya consisted of a lot of spiritual and physical attack. I
had malaria and typhoid during my time there and Satan used my
weakness to his advantage. It was like all joy that I had in the
Lord had been sucked out of my body and a spirit of self pity set in.
I no longer was loving my teammates well or putting them before
myself. I sank into a pit of pessimism and began to listen to the
lies of the enemy rather than the truths of the Lord. Instead of
finding joy in my circumstances I found death.
June
2011-Mukono, Uganda
2011-Mukono, Uganda
By
the end of my month in Kenya I re-rooted myself in the truths of the
Lord and was excited about having a fresh start in a new country. To
my surprise I was once again under attack. Not only did I get
malaria once, I got it twice. I was having an all out battle with my
flesh (literally and figuratively). With all that was in me I wanted
to complain about everything that was going wrong in my life and how
I did not understand why God would bring me to Uganda to allow me to
get sick again. Nothing made any sense and the more I tried to
control what God was doing in my life the more He came back to me
telling me to relinquish all control to Him.
the end of my month in Kenya I re-rooted myself in the truths of the
Lord and was excited about having a fresh start in a new country. To
my surprise I was once again under attack. Not only did I get
malaria once, I got it twice. I was having an all out battle with my
flesh (literally and figuratively). With all that was in me I wanted
to complain about everything that was going wrong in my life and how
I did not understand why God would bring me to Uganda to allow me to
get sick again. Nothing made any sense and the more I tried to
control what God was doing in my life the more He came back to me
telling me to relinquish all control to Him.
Present
Day-Morogoro, Tanzania
Day-Morogoro, Tanzania
After
reflecting on the past two months in East Africa and the events that
had taken place, my heart was longing to know what God was going to
teach me this month. Nothing really made any sense to me until
yesterday at about 5 a.m. I woke up writhing with excruciating pain
coming from my lower back (as most of you know and for those of you
that don’t I have a history of kidney stones). I could not believe
that this was happening and in my moment of complete weakness I
turned to God for strength. I went to Jesus in full assurance of
faith that He could and would heal my body. My attitude towards
sickness had changed and I called out to the only One who could help
me. I was talking to God and telling Him that I just wanted His will
to be done in this situation and that whatever it was He was trying
to teach me I was ready to learn. I learned that despite all of the
control I had give to God over the past months of this race there was
still a small degree of control, doubt, fear, and worry that had to
be let go of before God could continue to work in my life and lead me
to where He wants me to go. So in the throes of excruciating pain I
walked outside and began to pour out my heart completely to the Lord.
I repented for my lack of trust in Him and completely laid down all
control, doubt, fear and worry at the foot of the cross. While I was
praying something amazing happened-God began to take my pain away.
With each word that I said the pain receded and I knew that God had
not only broken chains off of me, He was showing me the miraculous
healing power that He has.
reflecting on the past two months in East Africa and the events that
had taken place, my heart was longing to know what God was going to
teach me this month. Nothing really made any sense to me until
yesterday at about 5 a.m. I woke up writhing with excruciating pain
coming from my lower back (as most of you know and for those of you
that don’t I have a history of kidney stones). I could not believe
that this was happening and in my moment of complete weakness I
turned to God for strength. I went to Jesus in full assurance of
faith that He could and would heal my body. My attitude towards
sickness had changed and I called out to the only One who could help
me. I was talking to God and telling Him that I just wanted His will
to be done in this situation and that whatever it was He was trying
to teach me I was ready to learn. I learned that despite all of the
control I had give to God over the past months of this race there was
still a small degree of control, doubt, fear, and worry that had to
be let go of before God could continue to work in my life and lead me
to where He wants me to go. So in the throes of excruciating pain I
walked outside and began to pour out my heart completely to the Lord.
I repented for my lack of trust in Him and completely laid down all
control, doubt, fear and worry at the foot of the cross. While I was
praying something amazing happened-God began to take my pain away.
With each word that I said the pain receded and I knew that God had
not only broken chains off of me, He was showing me the miraculous
healing power that He has.
All
this to say it took nearly three months of suffering for God to teach
me and completely free me from what was holding me back from Him. I
now know that even through terrible pain and sickness God is still
working in my life for my good because I love Him. Without
doubt, fear and worry hindering me from allowing God to work fully in
my life I cannot wait to see where He leads me next and what He
teaches me.
