Coming at you live from the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. This month is what we call in the ministry biz “ATL.” What does this super cool acronym mean? ATL stand for ask the Lord. Rather than having a host, my team and I ask God daily what he has for us. This first week of ATL has challenged me; but more importantly, this week has freed me. I am thankful for this bonus week in Mongolia because in the stillness I have grown into a better disciple of Christ.
The Challenge
I thrive in structure. I am driven by expectations. I find comfort in knowing the days agenda. Asking the Lord does not have structure. Asking the Lord does not come with expectations. Asking the Lord does not have a hourly timetable. Asking the Lord relies on faith, Faith, and FAITH. Asking the Lord involves intentionality, vulnerability and obedience. Asking the Lord means leaving fear at the door and walking in the authority He has given me.
As with all things, my first attempt at ATL was not perfect. On the contrary, I have felt a lot of inner frustration this week. Am I using my time wisely? Am I pursuing people? Am I pouring into my team? Better yet, what am I doing? In all these questions lies the answer, this is not about me. This mission is about GOD. I am not capable of impacting anyone’s life without God by my side. This is about showing the generous, warm, but ultimately broken people Jesus’s love.
The only question that remains – What do You want Lord?
The Freedom
God spoke to me while I was reading the Bible, in Hebrews 4:3, “And yet HIS work has been finished since the creation of the world.” My figurative jaw dropped to the floor after reading this liberating verse. In this verse God clearly said to me “Emily, it is not your job to save the world. I already did that on the cross. It is your job to seek Me out. It is your job to listen to Me. It is your job to be obedient.”
There it is. Feelings of ineffectiveness have slipped away as I trust God. I trust that I am here for a purpose. I trust that I am not judged by my works. I trust that He will guide me. I trust in God. All I need to do is ask Him.
As I reflect on my week, I smile with God because ministry has been happening all along but it took faith to open my eyes to it. Ministry this week is in conversations with fellow hostel stayers over morning breakfast and coffee. Ministry is offering to take traveler’s photos in front of the Beatles’s statue near the mall. Ministry is walking about the city praying with my team. Ministry is encouraging my teammates. Ministry is asking God what he has for me and then going after it.
Ministry is
This Weeks Needed Verses:
Ephesians 3:16-19 “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Hebrews 12: 1-2 “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross”
Hebrews 12:10-11 “but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No disciplines seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:26-29 “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”
