God is everywhere.
“If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your right hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” –Psalm 139:8-10
Is this actually true? Is God ACTUALLY everywhere? The answer is yes. Like, literally….everywhere.
I guess it never hit me how true this is.
We just started our ministry here in Ecuador. Our squad is very blessed (x 10,000) to have amazing hosts in Ecuador. They love the Lord deeply and are so gracious to let us be a part of their ministry. We have only been here for a few short days. In my brain I was like, “well sure there are Christians here, but probably not the same as me.” What a prideful selfish thought. God is everywhere. These people in Ecuador are so in love with Jesus that its awing. I literally just stood, teary eyed and dumbfounded as our ministry host explained his heart behind what they do. God is in Ecuador.
It’s very hard to form community with 48 other individuals you barley know. It’s not to say you can’t care for 48 people you don’t know, or even love them! But something about laying all your crap in front of them and expecting them to do the same and then intentionally pursuing God together is really challenging. It’s also frustrating. Because sometimes how God stretches us doesn’t feel great in the moment. Learning how to confront, deal with, and resolve issues with people is hard but also absolutely necessary. Even just today, our team has struggled as we go out into the city and try to navigate which way to go. It feels like mad chaos.
“Is this the right bus?”
“Where did so and so go?”
“Do we have everyone?”
“I don’t know where to go?”
It’s hard to have grace for others (and myself) in the middle of craziness.
However, one of my biggest fears is to not have grace. I’m afraid that if I don’t press into things that make me uncomfortable, I’ll end up missing out on truly being a part of this community. It would be very possible to just let these 9 months pass me by. But I know I need to continue to pursue and trust. My squad is filled with truly beautiful souls; it would be a shame if I chose the easy route. God is in community.
God is in my struggle to form community. He is involved in our ministry. There is no where I can go, that is out of his reach. God is everywhere.
Thank you for following this journey. Thanks for reading, loving and praying.
Sincerely,
Jules
