Friday 24 January 2014

Stepping Out Into What God Asks

Stepping Out Into What God Asks 
{Ministry night in Papeete} 
Jan 4th

Beth:
"We all have expectations we place on ourselves. Some are expectations we have of ourselves, some are expectations others place on us, some are expectations we think others are placing on us. During DTS and outreach, we are learning to hear and understand the expectations God has for us. One of the biggest character traits of God I have learned is His gentleness. He guides gently and speaks gently in a loving manner. His expectations for each of us are different. Sometimes he calls us to be in front of people, the center of attention, speaking to many people and sharing about him in a loud voice. Other times he calls us to work quietly for him with little or no recognition. 

It is these callings where we receive little or no recognition that can be difficult. Our work goes unrecognized and we can feel that it is unimportant. We may feel others are looking down on us because maybe, just maybe, they think we are not pulling out weight…maybe we don't have enough faith…maybe we aren't doing what we're supposed to be doing. 

We were in Papete with the team from Sydney for an evening of evangelism. I was paired up with Zara, a girl from their team. We walked around for 10 minutes or so when she stopped me and said, "maybe we should talk to that man in the baseball cap." We started to walk his way when she stopped me again and said, "well, I don't know, I don't know if God is telling me, or if I just feel I'm supposed to talk to someone." I told her that sometimes, we are called to talk to people, sometimes we are called to just pray, sometimes God might have something completely different for us that we feel others want us to do. She thought my words were so wise. I heard me preaching myself a sermon. 

Street evangelism is hard for me. God doesn't usually tell me random people to speak to. It sometimes feels forced. I have been surprised when another who does hear more starts speaking to someone and I end up having a wonderful conversation with them, but I do better with the random shopkeeper or person sitting next to me on a plane that I strike up a random conversation with. 

Zara, though for a moment, then said, "I really feel God asked me to ask you what you needed prayer for." I told her a couple things. She prayed, and then over the next half hour, we continued praying for all the people and places around us. It felt so right. It was so refreshing. We had our eyes open and just looked like 2 people having a conversation. Our work was quiet and didn't demand recognition, but it was significant to God. 


God is continuing to teach me to step into his plan for me, and not be concerned with what others think. It's a long process, sometimes it's a difficult process, but it's a good process."

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