Deserts

Dry. One word that describes how I feel. I'm walking through a dessert and looking for water and feel my body slowly giving up. My knees begin to buckle and I'm exhausted as I struggle to keep moving forward. My mind is racing - where can I go? What can I do? The only thing I can think of is water. 

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Over the last few weeks I have been walking through a spiritual desert. No matter how much I pray or read my bible the peace and joy (I remember was so abundant before) is not lasting me through the day. It's there in the moment and I do not want to leave it because I know that I'm facing the day feeling like I'm missing something and I cannot figure out what it is. 

As my trip to Poland is approaching I grow hungrier to find what is missing. The only thing I am drawn back to is Jesus. Give me more of Jesus. 

So many of us are running so fast and suddenly we find ourselves in this desert we never saw coming, and it hits us so hard. We are looking for a solution to the problem but there is nothing aside from Jesus. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing else I can do but trust and remain in him. God is my sustenance, and all I need to do is pour into him, grow in relationship with him - allow myself to be intimate with my God - so that he can fill me. 

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain in the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

Keep in mind always that it is not by our strength or by our power that we move forward, that we gain ground victoriously, but by the power of God invested in us. It is by faith we move forward. So have faith. Believe in the victory that was won for you out of love. Look back on all the times God provided for you and know that he hasn't left you yet and he is not about to. God is always there and he is sustaining you. God won't ever leave you. The enemy wants you to feel lost and hopeless but remember that you have a God who created you for greater things, and he is not going to give up on you. 

in preparations for my trip I refuse to give up on fighting this spiritual battle. I remind myself of the reason I am going and I cannot let my guard down. I continue to pursue his heart, and I know that in this dry spell he will soon fill me. He cares for his vineyard, waters it, and it grows. 

Be encouraged...continue to pursue the heart of Christ with humility and out of love. It is by faith that you grow. 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. "

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Hello Everyone! This is my last week in Canada for nearly a month! For those of you who do not know I have had the amazing privilege of being a part of an amazing team of students involved in a one year Global Awareness program called OMEGA at Summit Pacific College in Abbotsford, British Columbia. 

Over this next week I will do my best to post small updates and pre-poland reflections everyday. I want all those I love to be part of this journey with me! I am so excited to go on my first missions trip and be a part of shining a light on the relational Jesus that I know to the people of Poland. 

My team is on their way to Pultusk, while three other teams will be going to assigned locations in Opole, Elbag, and Warsaw where we will be working with Children, Seniors and play a part in joining the hands of the church with the community. 

So I invite you to keep being excited and journeying with me this week through all the hustle and bustle of prep and grad! Thank you for reading, until next time!