Well, after about 3 months my time in Georgia is done. It looked wildly different than I thought it would, plans have changed and expectations were challenged, but through it all the Lord stayed the same. He knew what was going to happen, and He had incredible plans for me and my squad. Here’s five things I learned in Georgia.
Words have weight.
Seems pretty obvious right? Words can hurt. But it’s not only about insulting someone or bringing them down. What are you speaking over yourself or your situation? Scripture tells us to be slow to speak. James compares the tongue to the rudder of a ship, which is small compared to the whole ship but directs the entire thing. James 3:8-9 (go read it!) says no human being can tame the tongue. That’s crazy! Thank the Lord that He can. Jesus also said that it’s what comes out of our mouths that defiles us (Matthew 15:11). Proverbs 18:21 says the tongue has the power of death and life. Let’s speak life!
The Lord provides!
Amen! He always gives you what you need. Not what you want. That’s another beautiful thing about our Father. Matthew 6:25-34 explains His provision. Verse 33 says if we seek first His kingdom and righteousness, the rest will be added. That can be scary. Is He trustworthy? Could you really take your hands off and trust that He will be enough? His provision will probably look different than yours. We have a habit of collecting treasure on Earth. Matthew 6:19-21 talks about laying up treasure in heaven, because our heart is where our treasure is! Take a look at verse 24 as well. If it was unclear before, Jesus says it plainly here. You cannot serve god and money. Seek first the Kingdom!
If your joy comes from what you have or what’s around you, you will be hurt.
But what if He doesn’t give me what I want? Does following Jesus just mean I have to miss out on a bunch of fun stuff? No! We just have to learn what actually brings joy. Jesus said that He came that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)! Over the last three months I lived out of a backpack and slept in my hammock and on a floor. I didn’t have a big house or a cool car to drive around but I would argue they were the best three months of my life so far! He is not a God of just enough, but a God of abundance! However, abundant life looks different than we often imagine.
Comforts are often idols, and are ultimately unnecessary.
This one was tough! It goes along with putting your joy in the Lord and not in the things of the world. For me personally, I thought I was pretty tough. “I can handle a lot, I don’t need to be comfortable.” The vast majority of Americans don’t realize just how comfortable we are. I could camp and live out of a backpack for a while, but the little things were difficult at first. Hand washing my clothes for the first time in a couple buckets and realizing I’d be doing it every week for the next 3 months. Taking those clothes off of the line the next day and realizing all of them were still wet and smelled worse than they did before I washed them. Getting enough food, but never an excess, and not feeling “full” after a meal. Taking showers with a 5-gallon bucket and cold water. Not being able to choose what I ate. Not being able to spread out on my bed because it was a pad less than three feet wide. Very rarely finding a room to myself for some solitude! It goes on. It was easy to complain about these things in the beginning and to constantly talk about what I wished I had, but then I figured out that words have weight 🙂 and I realized that the removal of these comforts was pushing me closer to the Lord and finding comfort in Him alone. Philippians 4:13, often quoted and taken out of context, says I can do all things through him who strengthens me. But right before it, in verse 12, Paul writes I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. God is enough! More than enough! We’re just too afraid to let go of our comforts and to let Him be enough.
He is bigger and better than you think!
Do you believe that? Do you believe that God is beyond our understanding? That He’s all knowing and all powerful? That He’s good? That good is better than any person or thing on this earth! He loves more than we can ever comprehend! Praise the Lord! Now ask yourself this: is your view of God skewed by your view of the world? Is it swayed by what other people say about Him? Have you turned from Him because of what people who call themselves Christian say about Him? Do you think if Jesus were here today He would be a Republican? Do you think He would be a Democrat? Consider going back to scripture and seeing what He says about Himself. Spend a lot of time in prayer. Get to know Him. I could go on and on, but the point is that we can’t get to a point of stagnation because we think we’ve learned everything we need to know about God. We can never know the full extent of His love, faithfulness, peace, and joy. That should be so exciting! Again, spend time in His word and in prayer and get to know Him more and more and more. Start with Exodus 34:6-7 when God reveals His character to Moses. If that’s confusing, keep going! Get some context. Figure out where Jesus is in the story. I promise you God is bigger and better and more loving and more beautiful than He is in your head.
Our route has changed for our international travel because of COVID, but we are still going overseas to spread the gospel and minister to people! In January we will be going to COSTA RICA for our first country! I invite you to pray about how God would use you in this journey. Pray for my squad as we travel, and consider donating! God has provided through friends, family, and strangers to get to where I am now. I just need about $4,000 to be fully funded, and any amount helps! Thank you, much love to you guys!
Ben
