Unreasonable, Illogical, Peace

A shaded morning dressed with a cool breeze, chipmunks playing in chase, a doe and a buck in velvet lying in ivy, resting and snacking on leaves; my morning quiet time with the Lord felt like a surreal painting of peace. It was so quiet and majestic that it felt jarring. How can I be in such a seemingly fictional scene of peace?

My peace comes from the Lord, and He gives it abundantly.

The scene from just a few days prior was very different. I sat on the couch making a list in my head that quickly became overwhelming.

"I have 30 days to raise $3,800. I have one month before I depart for Spain, my fundraising account sits lifeless, I don't have the time to meet with people and share about The World Race, let alone discuss supporting me on my next missions trip in September. This might not work."

But, God is good, and He's always working. His peace flooded over me, and I asked myself, "Why is my first response stress instead of trust?"

The next day, I was exploring my amazing home town of Cincinnati with a friend. We stopped for lunch at an amazing fried chicken restaurant, and were seated next to a man who had passed us on the sidewalk moments before. He greeted us and said, "Looks like we were headed to the same place." We made some small talk and ordered our food.

My friend and I had great conversation and delicious food. We talked about the World Race, our next stage of life, and what God has been speaking to us lately. All the while, stress was still eating away at the back of my mind. "This friendship, fried chicken, and city are great, but I need to figure out how the heck I'm gonna make it to my next trip in just a month." As we finished our meal, the man next to us spoke again.

He was wondering if we were students, then he said, "Actually, that doesn't matter. I feel like the Lord is telling me to pay for your lunch." I was blown away. We dove into conversation about missions, ministry, and family. He told us his name was Bill, I couldn't thank him enough times! I asked if we could pray together before he left, and we did. He felt the Lord speak, and was obedient. What Bill didn't know was how much my spirit needed that.

This gesture of generosity brought me to tears. I was sitting there so worried about how I was going to make things work, and Jesus showed up in Bill and reminded me the God is faithful in His promises, and He will always provide for us in our obedience. I was filled with so much peace and joy.

I feel like we are often trying really hard to trust God with our lives. The thing is, He is always so worthy of our trust. Things don't go according to OUR plan, and that trust starts to falter. But God isn't looking for our trust, instead He is trusting us with what He has given us by His grace. He is constantly desiring to give us His love, and grace, and His kingdom on earth.

I shouldn't be trying to trust God. I should celebrate what He has done. I've seen His Holy Spirit open the eyes of a blind man, heal people that were sick and hurting, deliver people from addiction, depression, fear, and poverty, and I've seen Him change thousands of lives. And that was all in the past year! He is constantly trying to give us His love and grace if we would just remember that He loves us and offers it freely. I want to celebrate that with people.

I shouldn't be asking God if He is going to provide support for my next nine months with G42. I should be resting in His promise that He will! I've seen Him extend His grace of generosity, and people supported my World Race journey. The past year changed my heart and my life, and it set the course for the rest of my life.

We are called to give to others what God has given us. For Bill, that looked like paying for my lunch. For me, it looks like sharing the love, and stories, and lessons that God has been teaching me, and praying for others. What God has given me is a new life, and He gives it again each day.

A lot of my life, I've been trying to figure out how I can help people get into heaven with me. But God has already given heaven to us freely. I want to spend time with people, and help them discover how to get heaven into their hearts. It's not about conversion, it's about transformation. We are people filled with God's light to shine into darkness.

So, as I sit here with only 30 days left in America, I humbly ask to spend time with you. I want to give away what God has given to me. I want to see people come fully alive as Christ lives in their hearts. I want to love you, and pray for you, and see your heart and life changed. I want to celebrate the unending goodness of our God with you.

There is an amazingly peaceful sense of urgency in my spirit right now. But instead of stress, I am choosing to meet it with patient trust. God is already worthy of that. I want to be worthy of His trust, love, and grace because He already says I am. If you want to help support me, I would love your prayer. I would love to find some time to talk with you and give away what God gives me freely. If you feel called to be a part of my support family, you can donate here: http://generation42.org/donation-details?d=52

God has called me to continue to go out and shine His light, but I know I can't do that alone. I would love to partner with you in seeing the kingdom of heaven come to earth.