Though spiritually I have been lost and then found, I had never been a huge fan of getting lost physically (exploring). Some others I knew would like to do that but not me. I suppose I saw it as either a waste of time, because I had other things to do or could do, or thought there won’t be anything significant to find, or both. But over the last 6.5 months on this missions trip I’ve been realizing that my perspective and feelings toward that have been changing…
It all started in Belize (some of you may have read my blog back then about it) My team decided to explore an area of the town we were in that we hadn’t been before, and SO many blessings came from it!
Just to name a few…
- We got to minister to and pray for some welders who were touched by the Lord
- Met an ex gangster that we would eventually have future interactions with
- Isaac met a shop owner who is actually from his home state in an area he is very familiar with.
- Came across a church we would end up doing ministry in
And more came from that area during the rest of our time in Belize.
Fast forward to the last few days…
One thing we do here is go on prayer walks in the morning with at least one other person. One thing I have enjoyed doing is going to areas I had not previously been 😀 The reason why is because there has always been a blessing to find in the midst of it.
- One day we came across a Serbian man who invited us into the bakery we were standing by and bought us both some burek and yogurt 🙂
- A different day we were able to bless and be blessed by a Serbian man who was playing an instrument on the sidewalk, and then found a really good ice cream place
- The other day we found a nice walking trail with trees surrounding and the sun shining just the right amount.
Each of these days I shared something that I got from a movie. Pirates of the Caribbean 3. The crew was looking for a secret place in the ocean… and after a while of sailing they realized they didn’t know where they were. The captain then said, “Aye, we’re good and lost now…” Then he says, “For certain you have to be lost to find a place that can’t be found, elseways everyone would know where it was.”
I know I’m twisting this around a bit and the quote in context of the movie doesn’t directly reflect my current experiences, but the point is that God has blessings for us that can sometimes be hidden or missed if we are unwilling to go beyond what we are familiar with. This can be applied in different ways…
- Some people are lost in a spiritual and mental sense but often that is what leads them to the possibility of being found. If they will admit to God that they are indeed lost and need saving .
- Some people think that following the Lord will cause them to be lost. But like in the movie, they must be willing to intentionally get lost in order to find what they are really looking for. Jesus says, “Whoever seeks to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses it for My sake will find it.”
- Some people are found in the Lord and are heading in the right direction, but then are unwilling to go into the unknown that He is leading them into.
I hope that whatever the case, you will be led into all that God has for you. But when He does, be willing to go for it 😀
