Now we were in Vega Baja. Moving to a new place and finally starting a ministry, refreshed and eager.
The very first night, an Alliance church whose property we were staying on, and who had provided vans for us to get to our ministry sites, had a youth prayer meeting that we were all invited to. I decided to go. This whole world race journey was about me stepping out of my comfort zone. So why not?
Let me tell you; when you step out, that is when God steps in. He moved in my life and others that night and it was powerful and memorable.
I had been reading Undaunted by Christine Caine. Highly recommend it! In that book, the author talks about the movie Schindler’s List. Now, I had never seen it, but the revelation she got from watching that movie was this: “It was my moment of wondering what, in my life, had been my golden pin like Schindler’s, the thing so precious to me that it never occurred to me to use it to ransom the life of someone else.”
Wow. Her revelation spurred something in me. It got me thinking as well. What was the thing in my own life that I didn’t want to give up, and because of that, I was missing out on the opportunity to free others?
So I began to pray. I asked God to help me surrender myself completely, not just a little, but everything. That’s a scary prayer and one that needs to be done more than once. But I digress. Back to the youth meeting.
We all stood in a circle and prayed for the people on our right. I explained to my new friend and sister, Lourdes (who spoke English), that I wanted to surrender, truly surrender myself to the Lord, so that my flesh didn’t get in the way of what the Lord wanted to do through me. You see, reader, I expect big things for this race and journey that I am on with the Lord, and I want to see His power glorified and magnified. But I believe that I have to learn to surrender. To let go. To move out of the way, so that God can work. I know I am not truly at that place yet, but I want to be.
Once the prayer was over, they opened the floor to see if anyone wanted to share. My teammate, Casey, shared, and her words were ones that I won’t ever forget. With eyes wet and shinging, and a face so genuine and sincere, she said, “a lot of times The Lord asks us to sacrifice things, BUT He does not forget about you.”
BAM! Her words hit me. I was reminded that the Lord has me! Why would I not surrender myself to Him?
So I encourage you to give yourself completely to Him, because though it’s scary and though you want to hold on to your life, or things in your life, the Lord will take care of you. If you surrender your life completely to Him, then be reassured that you are giving it to a King, to a Father that loves you.
Surrender.
Until the next adventure,
Teej
