In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making
New wine
In the soil, I
Now surrender
You are breaking
New ground
So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
On our last day of the world race, our leadership set up a beautiful final banquet for us on a mountain top restaurant that over looked the entire city of Bogota, Colombia. We walked about a mile to the base of the mountain and took a cable car that climbed up the steep mountain face. We walked up the steps to the beautiful cathedral and stood looking out at all of Bogota.
I walked a little ways away from the rest of the group with another squadmate to get a higher view of the city. We found a small section of wall that was empty and stood there in awe. My eyes tried to focus on all of the beauty that was in front of me, but it was almost too much to take in. On the left were more rolling misty mountains with some homes tucked in between them. My eyes traced the homes tucked in the mountains down to the part of the city directly in front of me that was completely flat. Moving further right, you could see the airport and the lines of oranges lights. We would be there tomorrow. There was a thick cloud that blanketed the sky. Near the horizon the sun broke through the clouds and a section of beautiful golden rays illuminated a small section of Bogota behind the airport. As more sun poked through, it reflected off of the homes, streets and buildings making the city glow.
The air was crisp and the wind blew my air over my shoulders. It was still. Quiet. Peaceful. My mind, heart and body slowed. You could hear the wind rustle the thick trees on the left and the slow hum of traffic towards the right. I thought of this year. I thought of the greatness of God. I thought of the next season. In the slowness there was a song on my heart. I began to hum the tune of a song almost unknowingly.
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
Humming turned to singing as my squad mate and I stood in wonder. It felt as if the wind carried our words directly to heaven.
In the crushing
In the pressing
I thought of this year and the ways that I felt pressed and crushed. I thought of the questions, the frustrations and the fear. I thought of times where I have felt trodden on, just like grapes in a winepress.
You are making
New wine
In all of the pressing and crushing, the Lord has made new wine out of me.
In the soil, I
Now surrender
You are breaking
New ground.
So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand
The song reveals the proper heart position in the pressing. Surrender. As I sang those words, I opened my hands and felt the wind pick up. As I plan to come back home in the next few weeks, my heart is more surrendered to the Lord than ever. I yield to Him as I pray and prepare for what the next season holds. I trust him with where he wants to lead me and I do not have to completely understand. Those lines rang in my ears and filled my heart.
I thought of new dreams the Lord has put on my heart, new desires and new passions. I thought practically through different next steps of returning home. I thought of San Diego and the people I cannot wait to hug. The answer to most of those questions remains, “I don’t know.” Looking over the city in that moment, the “I don’t know” was completely peaceful. There was hope and excitement behind the “I don’t know.”
Even though a lot of the future remains unknown, one desire never fades. There is one prayer on my heart that is the foundation of all next steps for me:
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
We fly back to America tonight. This is not the end of a mission trip. This is the beginning of a new lifestyle of missions to live everyday. The Lord has pressed me in new ways and made new wine out of me on the world race. I am ready for a short season of rest and reflection, but still excited to GO and make disciples of all nations. What does that look like? No idea yet. My heart is full of these lyrics, patience and anticipation of how God wants to use me. Everything I am, is because of Him.
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
