There are times when the Lord does a great work in you and it’s subtle and gentle and sweet.
And there are times when the Lord does a great work in you and it’s hard and messy and painful.
In this hard work, he quickly calls us out of the old ways we were living and throws us into new situations where we have to learn a heavy and (at first) uncomfortable amount of reliance on just Him.
He starts to call us further into deeper waters and into more awareness of who He has created us to be.
God exposes the lies that we have been walking in and starts to jack hammer down the walls that we’ve built around us to keep “who we are” safe from the hurt that the world causes.
He takes us through a process of becoming vulnerable and having to walk in humility for us to learn what it looks like to look more and more like Jesus.
As I study the life of Jesus, he continually leaves himself open to be wounded. Open to be prosecuted (for those Christian terms).
He lives a life of vulnerability, walking into every situation, unafraid of whether or not he will receive recognition, thanks, or fulfillment of any sort. He ignores rejection, and looks pain in the face, God backing Him up.
These are things that, if you really think about it, cause us hurt… and often keep us from jumping into the areas God calls us to.
Obviously Jesus grew up and spent 30 years in close relationship to God, but I really think some of his “hard work” happened during the 40 days he was in the wilderness before his ministry.
Satan attacked him hard, but God uses it to establish an even heavier reliance of Jesus on God.
I imagine this time for Jesus was hard, messy and painful. He was fasting for 40 days and nights, Satan was literally coming at him in every way, and he was wandering through the wilderness.
I don’t know about you, but that would probably break me.
He applied the defenses of the Lord to keep Him safe and realized quickly that He had to reach a whole new level of reliance on God.
From there, going into ministry, he always knew that the hurt he would experience because of human interaction/rejection wouldn’t compare to the heavenly interaction/approval that comes from Father.
Even after these 40 days, I don’t think God finishes the work He was doing in Jesus.
Sometimes I think I get stuck in my head that Jesus just reached this level of being and never grew from there. He is obviously Jesus and he is perfect in every single way, but I think God may have taken him through levels of growth just like he does us.
And that paints a really beautiful picture of growth for us of the growth and work that God can do in us as well. Jesus is literally the perfect example of growth through the mess that we have.
This past month in Zambia God has been walking me through a very quick and painful process of growth. It’s been messy, but I’ve also felt like it’s been further preparation for what ever season comes next.
He’s asked me hard questions and I have had to ask Him hard questions.
He’s walked me further into a personal relationship with Him and even throughout the pain and messy-ness has pursued me in really sweet ways.
I, by no means, think my growing is done, but I just wanted to share a little bit about what has been on my heart with you.
My team and I arrived in Zimbabwe – for our second month of ministry – a week ago.
We are in a beautiful house, in a beautiful part of Zimbabwe & I have high hopes that God is going to do some beautiful things through & in my team this month.
I would love to invite you to pray for my team – for unity, for open hearts and spirits to hear from the Lord, and for beautiful opportunities to pour out into the communities around us.
I still have $800 left to raise until I am fully funded for this trip; I would love for you to partner with me through donations. Donations (using the link attached) are tax-deductible, and you can sign up to donate once or monthly.
If you would like to donate through another means, please contact me.
Thank you so much for all of your love and support.
Share the hope,
Hanna
