“I will build my life upon your love, it is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone, and I will not be shaken!”
We have been in Panama for 2 & 1/2 weeks, and it was one of the hardest weeks so far. It wasn’t hard physically, but mentally and spiritually.
In my last blog I talked about what we were doing in Las Lajas. Our dirt digging, church foundation making has come to an end after a week. This morning we were chipping bark off of logs to prepare them as benches for the future, Bethel Casa de Dios! We come back to our house after 40 min, and see a bulldozer flattening all of the dirt hills, over all of our work. In the moment we made jokes about being replaced, and how it takes me 5 hours to rake a small section, but he did it all in under an hour. I wasn’t mad. Those days in the sun digging dirt taught me a few things:
- This team can make anything fun. From dancing, to goofing off and being The Three Stooges, we still got work done, and had fun while doing it.
- There were a lot of deep conversations over on that dirt. I got to know my team on a personal level, while working.
- We learned how to do manual labor without seeing the outcome. We knew we wouldn’t finish the foundation before we left, but we did the best we knew how to do. We worked harder instead of smarter.
At the end of the day we were exhausted. Our bodies have never gone through manual labor like that. We had to pray for supernatural strength everyday,
“Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you.”
Ephesians 6:10 TPT
We ate almost the whole fridge at the end of each day, with our shoes full of dirt, but you know what…
Our treasures are in Heaven.
It has been so hard here mentally, because of our circumstances. It easiest to choose joy when the circumstances around you are at a high; when everything is going great!
“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.”
James (Jacob) 1:2-4 TPT
When we found out that a bulldozer was going to come, we all just shot each other a blank stare, and still was asked to dig.
Day by day negativity would arise, and my thoughts wouldn’t be as positive. Instead of capturing those thoughts, I spoke them out, which became a routine and easier to speak negativity, rather than life. I wasn’t blind to this pattern, but just praying to change my heart and my attitude wasn’t working the way I wanted it to.
THEN
I opened up the Jesus Calling: 10th anniversary Bible plan, and it hit home on March 30th at 11am. The word Trust has been coming up a lot in my devotions, and my daily reading plan, and that’s exactly what I needed reminding of. Here’s a blurb from it, “When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank me. These are supernatural responses, and they can lift you above your circumstances. If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism. Even a few complaints can set you on a downward spiral, by forming your perspective and mind-set. The lower you go, the faster you slide; but it’s still possible to apply brakes. Cry out to me in my Name! Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. Thank me for everything. Then you will gradually ascend , recovering your lost ground…”
If you have never heard of Jesus Calling, there is a devotion each day from the mouth of Jesus, speaking into your life. SO MANY TIMES God has spoken to me through these devotions. I shared it with my teammates, and it hit home for all of them too. And together, we are choosing Joy, and to hold the negative thoughts captive, and replacing them with what God says. And with this team, and the love they receive from the Lord by spending time with Him, makes all the difference. We laugh our butts off every morning, day and night. And I believe that stems from choosing joy, and trusting in the Lord.
He is who He says He is, and I am who He says I am.
“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 TPT
