This past week has been super hard on me. We transitioned from Honduras to Guatemala. With all the Facebook statuses and updates on how we are doing as a squad I left out one thing: how I was doing. I was so sick! The day before we left I started getting a cold, but that night I only got 2 hours of sleep. The next day I was crammed onto a bus with 60 people and got minimal sleep that night as well. Then, I had to be re-crammed onto a bus and have a whole day of adventures ahead of me. To make a long story short, my small cold turned into a 101 degree fever, with nausea, body aches, a nasty cough, and a pounding headache. We then made it to Guatemala, and I kid you not, I was so sick that I slept for 3 days. During those 3 days I was probably up for a total of 6 hours. My team was probably the best team I could ask for. They tried everything in their power to help out, and let me take off 2 days of ministry (even though one day was a hike to a volcano and doing a prayer walk. A volcano and Jesus go together like peanut butter and jelly). They would only wake me to see if I was still alive, (even though I got to a point where I was begging for death), and to see if a doctor run would be in the near future. During all this, God kept waiting patiently for me to ready to actually talk with Him, and actually take time and listen.
1 year ago, something similar like this happened. I was in college, and just got back from a night out with friends. I lost my voice, had a pretty high fever, and was told to step out of my ordinary life and listen to God. It’s funny because that was when He brought up this trip. Just to calm any nerves (mom) I’m not saying I’m going on another mission trip after this, but at the same time I can’t make that promise (God knows what’s going to happen…I don’t yet). I have come to find that I love being busy, and let me tell you, my life on the field has been nothing but busy! A year ago, I was so busy and so involved that I rarely made time God. This year, I have been so busy serving God, that I haven’t made time to listen. He caused me to step out of my ordinary life and have a conversation.
On the fourth day, when I was actually conscious, I was able to sit in a hammock and just be with my father. For a long time, we haven’t been able to have a heart to heart conversation because of all the unknown stuff that has been happening, and being so involved in ministry. It has been so easy for me to focus on serving, but not resting, and not being able to talk with my Father. However, He really wanted to talk with me.
On the fourth day, Jesus was able to stir my passion back up. He set my heart back on fire for what I will be working with, and He gave me time to mourn leaving Zion’s Gate and the relationships that I built there. He also taught me something about Himself that I was able to teach another man in ministry. God and I weren’t able to talk, and it seems like He was more than ready for a conversation to happen!
So now, take a look at yourself: Is God trying to talk to you? Are you like me, where your schedule is so busy that you don’t have time to be with Him and listen to what He’s trying to tell you? Or, are you so busy serving Him, that you aren’t focusing on your relationship with Him? That last one was definitely me. As humans, its so easy for us to get caught up in our routines, schedules, and lives that we forget to take time and just be with God, and listen to what He wants to tell us. This is so easy to do even as a missionary where your life is focused on serving Him 24/7. So I really encourage you with this: Take half an hour a day for the next week, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and just sit with your Father. What is He trying to tell you?
Sent from my iPad
