I'd love nothing more than to tell you that everyday life on the mission field is thrilling and exciting with one victory after another.
The truth is, we have our normal day-in, day-out routines like anyone else. There are days where you come back from serving completely exhilarated and pumped for the next one and days where you wonder if you made a difference at all.
Though I wouldn't trade my time on the mission field for anything in the world, it hasn't been particularly easy.
I've found in my 3 years here that I've been tested in ways I never imagined. The majority of my days I have had no choice but to lean on my Beloved and trust Him at His words that He is faithful to the end.
Jesus wasn't kidding when He said, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
We go through trials and seasons of testing that stretch our faith to boundaries we have not previously known. There is not a single missionary or missionary family here that is not experiencing some trial or testing, whether it be believing God for financial provision, miraculous healing, transformation of lives, or a fulfillment of His promises, plans, and purposes.
Specifically, the past 10 days alone have seemingly been one hardship after another here.
Last week, our church family received shocking news that our pastor, his son, and two others from the church were in a serious car accident just outside of Cabarete. It was an alarming two days as both the pastor and another needed urgent surgeries and blood transfusions. Praise the Lord, the church community and many of Sosua rallied together to find blood donors as blood supply is not typically stored here due to the inconsistent electricity to keep it fresh. It was truly a miracle that everyone survived and I know God has received much glory through this.
Personally, I had been having more car troubles myself, so after the accident and upon the urging of several friends, I decided to bite the bullet, make the investment, and take my car in for some much needed maintenance. After 4 days in the shop and several thousand pesos later, my car is in much better shape... though it still has the annoying sound that made me bring it in the first place. That's a headache for next week.
To add to this stress, I spent one night this week hugging the porcelain throne as I tried desperately to sleep on my bathroom floor. I can't say if it was a 24 hour bug, food I ate, or something in the water, but I'm slowly returning to my normal state.
One does become accustomed to the normal inconsistencies of life in the DR- erratic electricity, keys breaking in locks, invertors running a muck, no water, electrical wiring problems in the house... however, this week, I started buckling under the emotional and physical stress of everything.
The past few months God had been speaking to me concerning His promises and plans for the future. It had been one powerful word after another as both my hope and faith had arisen to new heights. Yet, God began speaking to me months ago and I'm still waiting for a fulfillment of what He declared.
So, what do you do in the waiting? In the trials? In the hardships? In the testings of your faith?
If you're anything like me... your flesh might prevail and you might complain a little to God.
"This isn't fair. Why have You allowed all this to happen? Why would You speak these words to me and nothing?"
Now, I certainly haven't reached full maturity with those types of questions.
And just like that, the Lord reminded me of how I've literally asked for, prayed, and sung the lyrics of the song Fling Wide, "take me through the fire, take me through the rain, take me through the testing, I'll do anything. Test me, try me, prove me, refine me like the gold."
Should I expect anything less, then?
I'm reading the gospels simultaneously and have reached the last chapters where Jesus is found in the garden before He was led to be tried and crucified. Jesus' words jumped out of the page and convicted my heart immediately.
"Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" (John 18:11)
Jesus spoke these words to Peter as he cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant. And He spoke these words to me as I aimlessly flung around my own sword of "why me's".
Like Peter, sometimes we fight against God's very plans that grow and stretch our faith and accomplish His purposes.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?
Though it be beyond my understanding, everything that happens must first go through God. Even Satan must first report to our Lord before he is allowed to touch any of God's children. Yet God has promised to work all things to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).
Despite what the enemy sought to do in last week's accident, the Lord displayed His miraculous saving hand and has received abundant glory.
As relates to my car, perhaps the Lord is continuing His lessons on being a good steward of the things He's given me and to learn to trust Him more with my finances... and to show me not all mechanics are out to rob me blind, but do care about my well-being.
My cozy night on the bathroom tiles? Well, my body clearly needed to get rid of that which it did not approve.
And this word the Lord spoke to me? I do recall Abraham waiting 25 years before he and Sarah conceived Isaac, which was God's promise to Abraham in making him the father of a multitude of nations... Oh, boy.
His ways are not my ways and His timing is not my timing. God must want to refine me through this season of waiting, so I say to Him, "I trust in you, O LORD... You are my God. My times are in Your hands." (Psalm 31:14-15).
After one of our princess gatherings in the village, one of the girls prayed the Lord's prayer to close. Another girl refused to pray, saying that it was a "Catholic" prayer and it doesn't count. I shared how the Lord's prayer is not Catholic, but rather, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray with this prayer and when we pray it from our hearts, God hears us.
Well, what is the first petition of the Lord's prayer?
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Your will be done, Lord.
Not my way, not my will, but Yours.
It's not about me and what I want. It's all about Jesus and what He wants.
The moment we begin throwing ourselves pity parties is the moment our enemy has succeeded in distracting us from God's purposes. We are to die to ourselves and live for Him, and when we truly do, those heartaches, trials, and testings make us hunger and thirst for more of Jesus.
This is where I want to be found. So thirsty that I gladly drink of whatever cup He places before me because it is from Him and I know He makes beautiful things.
I don't know where this finds you. Maybe you're waiting on the fulfillment of God's promises to you or maybe your faith is being challenged by hard-pressing trials. Perhaps you've also just had one of those weeks where you don't know whether to scream into a pillow or cry.
Just don't give up, don't settle for lies, but cling to the Truth and His promises for you. You never know what's right around the corner. Our God is faithful.
Lord, bring Your kingdom to earth and have Your way in our lives. I surrender again.
The truth is, we have our normal day-in, day-out routines like anyone else. There are days where you come back from serving completely exhilarated and pumped for the next one and days where you wonder if you made a difference at all.
Though I wouldn't trade my time on the mission field for anything in the world, it hasn't been particularly easy.
I've found in my 3 years here that I've been tested in ways I never imagined. The majority of my days I have had no choice but to lean on my Beloved and trust Him at His words that He is faithful to the end.
Jesus wasn't kidding when He said, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
We go through trials and seasons of testing that stretch our faith to boundaries we have not previously known. There is not a single missionary or missionary family here that is not experiencing some trial or testing, whether it be believing God for financial provision, miraculous healing, transformation of lives, or a fulfillment of His promises, plans, and purposes.
Specifically, the past 10 days alone have seemingly been one hardship after another here.
Last week, our church family received shocking news that our pastor, his son, and two others from the church were in a serious car accident just outside of Cabarete. It was an alarming two days as both the pastor and another needed urgent surgeries and blood transfusions. Praise the Lord, the church community and many of Sosua rallied together to find blood donors as blood supply is not typically stored here due to the inconsistent electricity to keep it fresh. It was truly a miracle that everyone survived and I know God has received much glory through this.
Personally, I had been having more car troubles myself, so after the accident and upon the urging of several friends, I decided to bite the bullet, make the investment, and take my car in for some much needed maintenance. After 4 days in the shop and several thousand pesos later, my car is in much better shape... though it still has the annoying sound that made me bring it in the first place. That's a headache for next week.
To add to this stress, I spent one night this week hugging the porcelain throne as I tried desperately to sleep on my bathroom floor. I can't say if it was a 24 hour bug, food I ate, or something in the water, but I'm slowly returning to my normal state.
One does become accustomed to the normal inconsistencies of life in the DR- erratic electricity, keys breaking in locks, invertors running a muck, no water, electrical wiring problems in the house... however, this week, I started buckling under the emotional and physical stress of everything.
The past few months God had been speaking to me concerning His promises and plans for the future. It had been one powerful word after another as both my hope and faith had arisen to new heights. Yet, God began speaking to me months ago and I'm still waiting for a fulfillment of what He declared.
So, what do you do in the waiting? In the trials? In the hardships? In the testings of your faith?
If you're anything like me... your flesh might prevail and you might complain a little to God.
"This isn't fair. Why have You allowed all this to happen? Why would You speak these words to me and nothing?"
Now, I certainly haven't reached full maturity with those types of questions.
And just like that, the Lord reminded me of how I've literally asked for, prayed, and sung the lyrics of the song Fling Wide, "take me through the fire, take me through the rain, take me through the testing, I'll do anything. Test me, try me, prove me, refine me like the gold."
Should I expect anything less, then?
I'm reading the gospels simultaneously and have reached the last chapters where Jesus is found in the garden before He was led to be tried and crucified. Jesus' words jumped out of the page and convicted my heart immediately.
"Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" (John 18:11)
Jesus spoke these words to Peter as he cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant. And He spoke these words to me as I aimlessly flung around my own sword of "why me's".
Like Peter, sometimes we fight against God's very plans that grow and stretch our faith and accomplish His purposes.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?
Though it be beyond my understanding, everything that happens must first go through God. Even Satan must first report to our Lord before he is allowed to touch any of God's children. Yet God has promised to work all things to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).
Despite what the enemy sought to do in last week's accident, the Lord displayed His miraculous saving hand and has received abundant glory.
As relates to my car, perhaps the Lord is continuing His lessons on being a good steward of the things He's given me and to learn to trust Him more with my finances... and to show me not all mechanics are out to rob me blind, but do care about my well-being.
My cozy night on the bathroom tiles? Well, my body clearly needed to get rid of that which it did not approve.
And this word the Lord spoke to me? I do recall Abraham waiting 25 years before he and Sarah conceived Isaac, which was God's promise to Abraham in making him the father of a multitude of nations... Oh, boy.
His ways are not my ways and His timing is not my timing. God must want to refine me through this season of waiting, so I say to Him, "I trust in you, O LORD... You are my God. My times are in Your hands." (Psalm 31:14-15).
After one of our princess gatherings in the village, one of the girls prayed the Lord's prayer to close. Another girl refused to pray, saying that it was a "Catholic" prayer and it doesn't count. I shared how the Lord's prayer is not Catholic, but rather, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray with this prayer and when we pray it from our hearts, God hears us.
Well, what is the first petition of the Lord's prayer?
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Your will be done, Lord.
Not my way, not my will, but Yours.
It's not about me and what I want. It's all about Jesus and what He wants.
The moment we begin throwing ourselves pity parties is the moment our enemy has succeeded in distracting us from God's purposes. We are to die to ourselves and live for Him, and when we truly do, those heartaches, trials, and testings make us hunger and thirst for more of Jesus.
This is where I want to be found. So thirsty that I gladly drink of whatever cup He places before me because it is from Him and I know He makes beautiful things.
I don't know where this finds you. Maybe you're waiting on the fulfillment of God's promises to you or maybe your faith is being challenged by hard-pressing trials. Perhaps you've also just had one of those weeks where you don't know whether to scream into a pillow or cry.
Just don't give up, don't settle for lies, but cling to the Truth and His promises for you. You never know what's right around the corner. Our God is faithful.
Lord, bring Your kingdom to earth and have Your way in our lives. I surrender again.
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