Guatemala has been our home the past six weeks, and in only three days we will be moving halfway across the world to Vietnam. As our time comes to an end in Guatemala, I just wanted to share some things the Lord has taught me throughout our precious time here in this beautiful country.
- There will be seasons where we don’t feel like we are in the best spot with the Lord. What would this look like you might ask? Well, maybe you don’t feel like praying or reading the Bible. Maybe you just don’t feel the lords love in your heart, or don’t feel him walking alongside you every day. Having a relationship with the creator of the world doesn’t consist of a feeling. Whether we feel the Lord next to us or not, he is right beside us through every season of life. There were a few days just last week when I was reading my Bible, yet heard nothing from the Lord on how to apply scripture into my life. I wasn’t excited to read the Word, yet I was consistent in my quiet time with him. Something the Lord taught me through this is that the He will reward your faithfulness. The first half of 1 Samuel 23 says, “The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness.” I have been in such a consistent routine of spending time with the Lord every morning here in Guatemala, and I believe the Lord rewarded me for that. There have been seasons when I haven’t wanted to read the Bible or pray for months at a time before coming on the race, but I also didn’t spend consistent time with Him. This time around, I believe the Lord pulled me out of my season of the mundane when I wasn’t excited to spend time with my Father, because of my faithfulness to continue spending time in the Word even when I didn’t FEEL like it. I encourage all of you to continue spending time with your Father and listening to Him even when you don’t feel like doing it.
- The mundane season is beautiful. Being in the mundane, just living as a disciple is just as amazing as being radically on fire for the Lord! The Lord has pulled me out of the mundane before, into being ON FIRE for the Lord! If you are currently in the mundane season, know that it won’t last forever. Lean into what the Lord wants to teach you in this time, and this season is just as beautiful as the season when you’re jumping for joy for the Lord.
- I have been reading through Acts and it has been so amazing! I recently read Acts 5 and it really made me think. In this chapter, it talks about how the apostles were persecuted and called to the Sanhedrin for the miracles and healings they were doing. At the end of the chapter, in chapter five, verse 41 it says “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” How often do I rejoice and praise the Lord for the persecution I receive? As I have shared in a couple blogs, I have been praying and leaning more into a bold spirit. I have definitely seen the Lord rewarding me and giving me this spirit more! As I continue to grow more in this area, I want to be able to rejoice because I was persecuted! I want to love others who are hard to love and be counted worthy of suffering disgrace because of the Gospel. There should be no fear in me sharing the Gospel because that comes from the enemy, not me. The enemy doesn’t want us to live like Jesus at all or share the Good News with anyone, so he induces fear in us which causes us to keep the news to ourself. But the Lord didn’t call us to do that! He called us to share Him with everyone all around the world, and by doing that, maybe we can be worthy enough to receive suffering for His name! How can you be living life more radically for the Lord that would be worthy enough for suffering? This is something I am still working on and will always be working on, but I challenge you to answer the question for yourself!
- The Lord has been breaking my heart for his children who don’t know him. He has been giving me more of his heart to feel and emphasize in a way only the Lord can. He has been teaching me that those who don’t know Him are just as important as those who do!
Coming into Guatemala, I was mainly expecting to do ministry and pour out into others. Little did I know, that the Lord would be teaching me so many things along the way. This has, and will continue to be a season of growth, just as much a season of serving. I cannot wait to see how the Lord will continue to work as we go to Vietnam in just a couple days! Thank you Lord for all you have shown me and will continue to shine your light upon!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or want to chat about anything!
