Change is good.
I haven’t always been a big fan of change, and I’d be lying if I said that I love it now, but I’m starting to realize that change is so useful and God can use us and challenge us so much through change.
Just a few days ago, while the squad gathered in Lima, Peru, it was time for teams to change. My precious team leader, Vanessa, was chosen to be one of the squad leaders – the leaders who travel from team to team challenging and encouraging us throughout the race. Because she and two others were chosen to rise up into these positions, the existing teams were prayerfully rearranged and made into new teams.
I am now the leader for one of these newly formed teams. I am blessed to have three of my previous teammates (Renee, Peter, and Shida) and three new ones (Jeff, Kelsey, and Bekah) traveling this next step of the journey with me. It has been an interesting transition to this new position, and as unqualified as I feel, the squad leaders reminded me and the other newly appointed leaders that you don’t have to be qualified to be chosen by God. 1 Timothy 4:12 has been much needed reminder because I am very aware that I am the second youngest, a girl, and not as vocal a person as others, on this new team that is full of leaders. I am confidant that God has me here for a reason though, and that He is using this to stretch me and grow me, and I am very excited to see what all He has in store!
The name my team chose was Quiet Storm, or rather, that was the name God chose for us. Sometimes I feel like God has to write on the wall for me to see something, and this time he did it literally. After observing the dynamics and personalities on our new team, we agreed that we are generally laid back, peaceful people, but that there is also a lot of strength and strong personalities mixed in. It made me think of a mixture of grace and power. While Shida and I were walking the streets of Lima to go pick up laundry, we both looked up and saw graffiti on the wall in front of us – in English, no less – that read:
Now, who knows why it was written there. Maybe it was just random or the name of a gang or something (haha, Hope not!), but we like to believe God prompted whoever it was so that we could see it that day. 🙂 It was a catalyst for an overflow of thoughts, scripture passages, and imagery that seemed to embody our team.
One of the verses I have used in my Spanish-translated testimony is from Luke 8, where it talks about God calming the storm that had the disciples so scared. If He can calm the crazy, turbulent storms of the sky and ocean with such ease, surely He can calm the storms inside of my life! He quiets the storms that we go through, and He is always the best source for peace and comfort.
On the flip side of that though, our God is a powerful storm Himself. We should never forget how huge, majestic, and warrior-like He really is. And just like He charges into spiritual battles, He calls us to arm ourselves and be a united force that follows our Commander into those battles with him.
Nahum 1:8 says:
That is a powerful God! And He means business! Of course He is a God of forgiveness and grace, but we need to remember not to water-down our idea of God and forget about a whole aspect of His character. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm – He is crazy MIGHTY – but, yes, He also brings peace, joy, and an overabundance of love. And since we are created in His image, and since we are followers of Him, that’s what He calls us to also. We are mighty warriors. We fight the battles. We bring the storm. We are also bearers of peace. We boldly bring the message of salvation. We follow the Savior and the divine Comforter. We are choosing to be a Quiet Storm – the bearers of the peaceful, powerful gospel message – to the world. Anyone care to join us?
