This from Lena:
"So, how did you all land in Peru?"
This question is one that could launch us into a long recital of all the miraculous things that God did to get us to Peru. I never get bored of telling it, because every time I do, I feel the awesomeness--the undeniable way the Lord sent us there. The day-to-day of being a missionary can be a trying experience at times. You don't understand so many things, and as you are there longer, you start to see how YOU and not THEM will have to do the adjusting! It can be exhausting, although rewarding, even if your reward is simply that you know that you obeyed when the Lord told you to go.
There is something profound that happens when we tell our story-- I lose focus on the struggles we have faced, and in it's place, His face comes into view, and I know that He is with me. My own testimony encourages me, causes the lies of the devil to lose their power, and gives the glory to the Lord.
Revelations 12:11 says "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins paired with our testimony of what the Lord has done for us is our key to overcome the devil. The more I declare that God is good, the more that I pass on to others of how God has revealed Himself to me, the stronger and bigger threat I become.
Our testimony is so important. Bill and I have always tried to keep track of the miraculous things that God does for us, and tell these things, like we are looking through a picture album of our lives, noting all the important moments. I believe with all my heart that all of God's children have a testimony, and that some are beaten down because they keep forgetting all that He has done for them. Slowly, we can become weary because we have quieted our testimonies and have listened to "alternative translations" of the story that erase the miraculous.
We are blessed, because it is part of our job to tell the story. I pray that the Lord touch your heart and mind even now, reminding you of all that He has done for you, and that it will mean so much to you that you do not "love your lives so much as to shrink from death" because of how much it means. And if you never felt like you had a very special story of how the Lord rescued you, I pray that He would touch your mind and show you the true story of how you came to be His. Blessings!
2 comments:
So true.
And ... I would love to sit and listen to you guys' stories. The few I've heard are amazing.
Very nice subject. Makes me wonder what all I have forgotten due to a short duration of gratitude and lack of profession.
Was this what Saul was able to do once he was annointed as king of Israel? Folk who knew him were amazed that he was sitting with others prophesying...perhaps his tongue was loosed and his memory unfogged by an actual encounter with the Holy Spirit. However, he didn't remain that way, and neither do we, unless we are continually re-filled, re-touched. Like a wind-up or battery-powered toy, we are not self-sustaining. Perhaps that is how self-improvement efforts differ from sanctification. Also emphasizes the importance of deep spiritual friendships, partners in the Gospel with whom we can share and declare and have our memories of His goodness refreshed and renewed.
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