A Breakthrough in Greenville
While visiting our friends in Greenville, SC, we had dinner with them and their friends who have spent time in missions.
Jim and I had been struggling with what direction to take to grow this mission we’ve been called to. The funny thing about our experience being called by God to this journey is that everything fell into place until we moved into the RV. Then suddenly, we didn’t seem to have direction. A friend suggested God may be preparing us or for the journey. That was comforting to me, but four months later I was forgetting those wise words. Despite what we know to be true, we found ourselves again questioning the calling.
Was this indeed what God wanted us to do? Did we make a mistake? What was the mission going to be? How do we search for the mission? Why aren’t we finding work? And, if we are being honest, we didn’t want to let down God or those who were so excited and inspired by our plans. A heavy burden to carry, but one we were only placing on ourselves.
As I’m learning, being a follower of Jesus is a journey. One that can be full of joy but sometimes an uphill battle. It is easy to say, go to church, pray about it, or turn to His word (the Bible) and all of those things are wonderful. But it is more than that. Since I have experience with anxiety, I like to compare the two. Taking medication for anxiety is often necessary, but it doesn’t end there. Going to therapy, learning cognitive skills, changing our environment, and exercising all contribute to managing and sometimes overcoming anxiety.
Following Jesus involves first opening our hearts and inviting Him in. Often times that happens in our darkest moments, and once we accept Him we are overcome with a peace and joy that can only be attributed to Him. Then life happens.
We walk out into a world that isn’t seeing or feeling what we are. We have the prescription, but the outside world is making it seem like the medication isn’t working. That is where we have to take it a step further. We need to grow our faith and learn what He wants for our lives.
Going to church is about fellowship and learning. Reading the Bible is about studying and sharing. Praying is simply talking to God. None of this has to be perfect and won’t always make sense, but in time, with devotion, we can look back and see growth. This process is often made easier by joining a small group, having an accountability person or mentor, or simply asking questions.
Jim and I still have the need to devote ourselves to these habits and always will. Even still, we struggle because we are human. Satan knows our weaknesses and he desires nothing more than to see us fail. By doing so, we become less effective in having an impact on the world around us.
As we wrestled with what our mission was, we remained faithful and talked to God, and when there were no words, the Holy Spirit new the desires of our hearts. That is where answers started surfacing. I might add – answers didn’t come immediately.
We started hearing the word, “breakthrough”. We first heard the word in a message about breakthrough at a church in Virginia. The very next day our devotional, Salt and Light by Chris Tiegreen, said “breakthoughs will come”. And then for a third time, believe it or not, we heard the word breakthrough during dinner with our friends in Greenville.
As we shared our hearts and the struggles we were internally facing with the direction of our mission, those four people, educated, guided, encouraged, prayed for us and told us to expect a breakthrough. It was clear, God was telling us something.
That evening a final thought was shared with us, just be available. That is all God asks us; be available to our calling; enjoy the journey, let God do His work, and watch for the breakthrough.
God answers prayers all of the time, in words, through acquaintances, in His word, in nature, in prayer, in visions, etc. Sometimes it might not be in our time; but always in His perfect time. We just need to remember to take our prescription, let the medication do its job, be obedient, nourish our faith, and build stability.
What does that mean? Think of it like this. While visiting Falls Park in Greenville, we saw a tree with deep roots. Our walk with God requires we build depth in our faith by being obedient (humility), nourishing our faith (focus on things that build us up), and having stability (keep going). When we do that our roots grow and keep us grounded during times of doubt.
A week later I was again reading my devotional, Salt and Light, and it ended with the following:
“Lord, you have given me a high calling to carry your presence, and there’s nothing I can do to manufacture it.” ~ Chris Tiegreen
We still to this day do not know what God’s calling for our mission will truly look like. Maybe it’s this blog, or maybe we will serve in disaster zones, build houses; maybe we will just touch lives as we travel, or maybe it will be something that we could have never even imagined.
What I do know is that we will continue to grow our roots through the ups and downs. He is in control, and He wants us to enjoy the journey while we wait for His perfect plan.
I end with yet another devotional. Sharing only sections of it won’t do it justice, so I will add it in its entirety hoping it will touch you the way it did us.
