God is Good!!
We just finished our 3rd service of itineration and it went incredibly! We are 3 for 3 – meaning we visited 3 churches so far and all 3 are supporting us!
Itineration is a unique phenomenon, there’s really nothing quite like it. It’s part traveling evangelist, part fundraising, part small business promotion, and I’m sure there are other parts that I’m not thinking of at the moment!
Emotions play a role in adjusting to new circumstances – there’s something about the fact that if you haven’t done something before, you feel a little nervous. I’m not sure why because if you take the different parts of itineration, they are familiar to me and to us, but put together as a whole they form a different reality that can be intimidating.
I generally try to downplay my nerves and anxieties and attempt to stand on certain truths that give me confidence. For example, I know that God is our provider. Therefore, I should never be nervous or concerned about raising funds because I know that God will provide.
Yet the reality is that it is a struggle everyday to trust and believe that we will raise all of our funds.
Another example, I know that God has called us to Mexico and He has written our stories. Yet I struggle when speaking with pastors and churches with feeling that my story isn’t that exciting and there are probably better causes and missionaries for pastors, churches, and individuals to support.
These tensions, between what I know to be true and what I actually feel and struggle with, form the basis for the nerves and anxiety that come to the surface as we embark on this new journey of missions itineration.
Eugene Peterson paraphrases Philippians 4:6-7 this way:
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
So the answer to our worry is….PRAY. Wow, who would’ve thought..(note sarcasm). I NEVER would’ve thought of that (again, please note sarcasm..)!
Having the right answers and putting them into practice are two completely different things. Most of the time we have the right answers in front of us – because they are usually simple – it’s putting them into practice, in the midst of their simplicity, that poses the challenge. Yet if we will take God at His Word, we will find the truth in those answers.
I now realize that I need to pray MORE THAN I DO. I need to take more time to LISTEN to God, to WAIT on Him, to TELL HIM WHAT I NEED. As I do, I can be confident that He will meet me in my need and bring “peace that passes understanding.”
I have a feeling He might do the same for you..(sarcasm..again).
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