"You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That's right-you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set." Psalm 119:1-3
A lot of times things don't make sense to us. We are taught to find reason, to understand and to make sense of certain situations. That is definitely my personality- I want to understand the "why" of everything. However over the past few months God has been challenging me on what faith really looks like in our daily lives.
Faith involves me surrendering my desire to understand;
Staying the course;
Walking steadily according to what God has revealed;
Finding Him;
Not going off on my own;
Walking straight along the road He has set.
I was able to put this kind of faith into action these past couple of weeks. Three different nights I had made plans to go out to the streets to hand out gift bags to get to know the girls. However each day I felt God say, "Not yet. Wait". Honestly at first I was confused because we had the gift bags ready, we had people to go out with and everything was lined up and planned. But that still small voice kept telling me "Just wait". So wait I did. This past Wednesday I finally felt God give me the 'go-ahead' to go out to the streets.
Nayeli and I went out to hand out gift bags in 2 downtown areas (in an alley and in a park). We first went down the alley where we found about 7 young girls. Normally they do not acknowedge you, make eye contact, or respond whatsoever. They are not allowed to. However this time they talked with us, told us their names, smiled, laughed and received the gift bags. Praise God for this drastic change!
Next we went to the park where there were at least 20 girls. Each girl received their gift bag with a huge smile. Towards the end of the night a girl started up a conversation with us. Yes. She was the one who started the conversation, not us.
"Why are you giving these gift bags to us?"
I responded, "Well we had made plans to come another night, but we felt really strongly that God wanted us to come tonight and show you how much He loves you and how much value you have in His sight, etc, etc."
"Wow. Thank you. Are you guys Christian?"
"Yeah."
"Wait a minute. Let me call over my friends."
She invites her three friends who are also out 'working' to join our conversation. Then she asks us, "Can you start a Bible Study with us here?"We stayed and talked with the 4 girls for about 20 minutes. The entire conversation was full of smiles, laughter and joy. Joy radiated around those park benches. Keep in mind what these girls go through every day. Their "normal smiles" are not real, but rather forced to entice customers. Their "normal laughter" is not rooted in joy, but also forced. Joy is not something they experience. But tonight was different. The smiles were real. The joy of the Lord permeated the alley and the park.
When it was time to leave, one of the girls gave us her phone number so we can start a Bible study. All of the girls gave us huge hugs. Not just the normal Mexican hug and kiss of "nice-to-meet-you", but a real hug you give to a good friend.
There was true breakthrough that night. God's Spirit is moving mightily. I don't want to follow my own path, my own plans, go off on my own. I want to walk steadily on the path He has revealed to me, even if it doesn't make sense in the moment.
Last week I did not understand why God kept telling me "Not yet, just wait", but after this experience I could see why. God was preparing every little detail so that He could move.
It is not about me, what I want, desire, or understand.
It is about staying the course set before me by God. Being sensitive to the still small voice of the Spirit. Being obedient even when I don't understand. The fact that God longs to be so personal and intimate with us in guiding our every step truly brings me joy. I pray that the joy of the Lord would overflow in us.
 |
| "You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That's right-you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set." Psalm 119:1-3 |
