We were asked to write a blog about how we felt before leaving on this mission trip. Here is what I am expecting…
One of my biggest desires for God to accomplish on this 319 day journey is to empty me of me. As Chris Sligh says in his song…
Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.
In my 25 years of life I have and continue to hold on to many foolish things: my own agendas, my lustful desires, my self-pity, my comfort zone, my achievements, my selfishness, my pride. These are things that I have struggled to give God control over. As a result of that, I am sure that I have held myself back from being as useful in God’s work as I could and should have been. I want to change that. I want to learn to strip myself of everything that I hold on to and be completely immersed in God so that His characteristics flow out of me. So that I am a reflection of Him.
I must confess, I worry this will be a difficult hurdle for me. So I ask that everyone who is willing, pray that God gives me the strength to let go of myself and the temporary trappings of this world and grab hold of Him. I hope to come back from this trip a changed person. Someone who no longer looks at life through the eyes of a mere human, but someone who sees the world through God’s eyes. Like the chorus of Brandon Heath’s song says…
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the one’s forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
