God is so there on mission projects. He is so real…
During our evening meetings when debriefing the day, nearly every student and adult shares where they saw God at work…
…supplies delivered before being requested,
…supplies not delivered but allowed for beautiful time of conversation with the homeowner,
…children sat in rapt attention to hear the gospel shared when moments before all chaos reigned,
…rain fell all around but not on the roof being shingled,
…tears of joy from a homeless woman as a teammate connected with her through a gentle touch,
…powerful sense of God’s Spirit blowing through the evening’s worship,
…and more and more and more testimonies of God’s active role in the day.
Here at home, though, where is God? When was the last time you saw God move in your life? When can you look back and recall that God definitely did something amazing and revealed Himself? Do you look back over the day and see His fingerprints through the orchestration of the day’s events?
Scripture affirms to us that God is ever-present. “Do I not fill heaven and the earth?” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24; check out Psalm 139:7-10 and Acts 17:24-28 also). So where is He when we are home?
He is here. Truly…it was me who had moved. When on a mission project, I am singularly focused on serving God and His people. I spend time early in the morning reading scripture and journaling. I ask to pray with teammates, fellow leaders, and new friends in the community. I push to reach outside myself to serve others. I worship every evening with the mission team. I pray every evening with small groups and the large mission group. I continually redirect my focus to my Lord and Savior. I live in a complete mindset of love and gratitude.
Here at home. hmm… totally different story. I multi-tasked many roles. I spent time most mornings in the Word, but rushed off for the day’s events instead of journaling and internalizing God’s message. I rarely prayed with others. My corporate worship was once a week. My focus was life’s daily demands, my to-do list, emails, obligations, work, house and yard chores. God was not part of every fiber of my being.
So…I decided to live a mission-project life. I don’t remember exactly when I made this decision. It’s been a couple years, at least. I’m doing better at the missional living, but I still have a long way to go!
Won’t you come along for missional living? It’s challenging…even painful or embarrassing sometimes. But so worth it!
And, by the way … I saw God yesterday. He inspired my writing. Words poured from my soul to the keyboard. He spoke through my co-worker, “You should write a book,” confirming a desire that has been rumbling in my heart about missions. Two people called and resolved two items on my to-do list (I especially love it when the Lord handles my to-do list!). He helped our neighbor. Tired after a long day, my husband graciously helped solve her computer problem. And, we got three free bowls at Genghis Grill! Bonus!
