my thoughts.

I have no words that are adequate to properly explain to the world what this country is like. Only pictures in my mind that are too real. All too real. Pictures that form a memory that create the events that shape a time in my life when I once was living in Africa. To pick an event or story to share with you from less than two weeks of being here is hard. I feel as though I have gone through many emotions and many happenings already!

 Basically it all comes down to…

LOVE

LOVE is…
the reason we live. (called)
the reason we hope. (Jesus)
the reason we believe. (faith)
the reason we breathe. (grace)
the reason we persevere. (trust)
God.

When you are put into a situation where all you have to depend on is God, you cling. You cling to the hope you have and that is what is different between countries. There are countries that realize their dependence on the Holy Spirit for life and then there are countries that miss the Holy Spirit. Quite frankly the majority of North Americans are so incredibly blessed that often we miss what is right before us.  We miss the Holy Spirit. Our God who desires to move, to bless, to transform lives is aching for us to trust Him.

Culture can successfully deceive us that we have any actual need.

But only if we choose to let it.

It says, ‘You are self-sufficient’ ‘You are adequate on your own strength.’  We miss that we have a desperate need of reliance and we are in need of strength from God. Why are we content with attempting to be adequate in the eyes of others, but the God of universe we so often forget to be concerned with? His opinion, His plan is the only one that matters. We serve a big God who is ready and willing to carry out an extraordinary plan, through us ordinary sinful creatures if we love and trust Him.

His ways are above my ways and the extraordinary plan isn’t promised to be easy, but to receive eternal life and a relentlessly forgiving love? Sounds worth trusting to me.

When all you have is God, when you realize all you need is Jesus, then He becomes center and Lord over all. And that is the difference between countries. 

Countries that have become blinded by the blessings and countries that have learned to receive the blessings with gratitude.

Let us not become blind with privilege.