Happy Easter Everyone!
On Easter Sunday my team and I attended Good Sheppard Lutheran Church, here in Kulua Lumpur. We were asked to do a skit, sing a song, and bring a short message. On Saturday night when we were deciding who would bring the short message, something came over me and I said I will. Not sure what I was going to say, I went to bed and slept on all my thoughts. I was going to try something a little different, I was going to write down some points and then let God and the Holy Spirit do the rest. So when I got up on Sunday morning I wrote down those few notes, then prayed to God for guidance and wisdom to bring the words to me that I needed to speak for the message. When we got to the church, Pastor Caleb said that we would be at the end of the service, as a little extra to the day…Then a bit later he came over and said you all can go right after we sing our praise song. You can bring the message. So here it goes… I am going to share my message with you all, it is about things I been working on while on this trip.
Here is my message:
Good Morning, Happy Easter, and God is Great!
We just performed a skit that shows us given our burdens to God and letting him guide us to a more positive and up lifting side with Him. He is our Provider and if we lay out our burdens to him, He will provide.
I am going to share a few stories on why I was depressed and fearful.
When I gradated college in Interior design, I took a job at an architecture firm that designed churches and other commercial facilities. I loved my job, but when the economy went bad I lost my job. I had no clue what I was going to do, I could not find a job, but God provided me with weddings to do the wedding flowers, something for me were I could show my creativity. That was going well, I thought I met my future husband, and I was going to live the American Dream; graduate college, get married, and have a family, but God at the time had a different plan. When everything started tumbling down I became really depressed, I struggled with figuring out how I was going to pay my bills, no body loved me, I was never going to get married and have a family. I was to the point of not wanting to get out of bed and I would cry all the time… here on the race I am letting that go, I am giving everything to God. He gives us situations so that we realize we need to rely on Him more. It is a process that I am still working on, but it is amazing how r awesome my number one DAD (GOD) is providing for me and opening up my life to a whole new level.
Next we have Fearful, I am a home body, and never would I have thought I would be on an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries. I have a fear of failure and fear of closed spaces. When I thought about coming on the race, I struggled with the thought I was going to fail, but I would not take this experience back for anything. I would do this all over again. I am totally relying on God’s trust to provide. I also looked at the money end of this trip; $14,300 is a lot of money to raise. I thought I would not be able to raise that amount of money because I didn’t have a job and I honestly did not trust God fully to provide for me. When I started to trust God and if it was His plan for me, he would provide. With perseverance, hard work, prayer, and faithful family and friends; I am fully funded. I know this is where God wants me to be.
On the race in our first country, some of my teammates wanted to be baptized. Our contact had this wonderful place for them to be baptized on the other side of a cave. I knew I could not go through the cave, being a closed in space; my thoughts were I need to see the other side, the end of the tunnel…I pressed on, went through the cave, with my heart pounding and heavy breathing. I kept praying to God, I trust you. Praise God I trusted him. The other side was gorgeous; you had a creek flowing between two mountains and beautiful greenery all around, one of the most beautiful creations of God. I let Him take on my fears.
Each one of us has something to let go to God and rely on Him for that guidance to get to the other side. Remember He is our number one provider, Father, and comfort. Christ died on the cross so that we can give Him all the hurts and pains in our life. We today rejoice because He rose from the tomb.
I thank God everyday for my blessed life. I may not be as rich as some, but I live in a comfortable home were visitors are welcome. God loves us no matter what, he provides us with the things I need. I have more of life’s material things than I really need, I have a closet full of clothes at home that so many people that we have come in contact with could use. I have five outfits in my backpack for one year; He has provided that for me. I’m healthy, have clothes on my back, and food on my table. Last week while in Pengkalan Hulu, God provided food for us to eat. When we went to visit the Oresey’s that prepared those 27 plates of food for us, out of love and care, God’s love and faith showed in the hands that prepared those meals.
We might not speak the same language, have some of the same beliefs, or the same burdens but we do have one loving Father. I have a family that loves me and I am blessed with many God fearing friends. These last few months have allowed me to grow through a team and teammates and their experiences and courage.
God sacrificed so much for us when Satan looked at Jesus and said, “I want all your blood, tears, and your life�
Jesus replied, “Done!� Then he paid the price for us. He paid the price for our sins and burdens and when he arose, He conquered our sins and was set free. I encourage you to let your burdens and sins go to God. He will provide and give us the strength to get through the things we are faced with each and every day.
THE END
The preacher came to me after the service and said that he was blown way with my message. That I did a great job, those words he said to me were very encouraging to me. All my teammates were very encouraging also; I apparently made some of them cry. It feels great to let your burdens go to God. There is so much more on the other side.
We ended the service with this; I wanted to share it with you.
Lord make me a channel of your Peace
Where there is hatred—let me bring Love
Where there is wrong—let me bring the Spirit of Forgiving
Where there is discard—let me bring Harmony
Where there is error—let me bring Truth
Where there is doubt—let me bring Faith
Where there is despair—let me bring Hope
Where there is a shadow—let me bring your Light
Where there is sadness—let me bring Joy
Lord, grant that I may rather seek
To Comfort—than to be comforted
To understand—than to be understood
To love—than to be loved
For it is by giving—that we receive
It is by self-forgetting—that we find
It is by forgiving—that we are forgiven
It is by dying—that we awaken to eternal life
Amen
Until next time—Take care
