After my first mission trip ever, I came home energized and ready to change the world. The poverty I witnessed in Haiti disturbed me more than I had expected and I wanted to find a way to make it better. I did not know where to begin to make a difference. Before long, life returned to its regular pace, and daily responsibilities put saving the world on the back burner.
The desire to help others did not diminish with time. But life did keep getting in the way of serving those in need. At times, I felt discouraged in the efforts. I even thought of giving up. In desperation, I prayed and searched my Bible for answers. Then, one day it hit me. I am trying to do all this work on my own. I do not have the power to change the world. I realized I was not the Power of One that could cause a change to happen, and only God could do it.
Our Almighty God is the Power of One that created our planet, whose voice calls down the thunder and causes lightning to flash (Jeremiah 10:12-13 NIV). And to help the poor, I needed to plug into the Power of The One, God. Once I learned to follow instead of trying to lead, the pathway became smoother. [bctt tweet=”God wants our help in the world, but He certainly does not need it. We are blessed to participate in His work. ” username=”YMMauthor”]
1 Corinthians 14:1 (NIV) Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
Following Christ instead of trying to pursue my agenda gave me a new superpower for changing the world. My superpower became saying “YES” to God’s calling on my life. I no longer had to figure it all out. I waited for the Lord to move and then when I felt called to follow, I said yes. Now, twenty years later, I still follow this model and it still works. Following Christ has taken me places I never expected to go. And each new experience with Him enriches my life.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Following Christ into a ministry of any kind will never be free from problems. The road that follows Christ is narrow, and few will take it (Matthew 7:14 NIV). But Christ will reward those who chose His pathway. The secret I discovered is to follow His lead down the road and to say yes when I feel His nudge. Once I plugged into the Power source, God allowed me to see how He could change my world.
Blessings,
Yvonne – #blogger, #speaker, and #author
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
All proceed from the sale of my book, Turning Mountains into Molehills, go to fund our charitable work with Orphan Relief Effort, Inc. The book is available on Amazon.
Galatians 6:9 is such a great verse! Thanks for an encouraging post Yvonne.
Say yes when you feel His nudge. Amen. I pray my heart, eyes and ears are open to hearing His nudge. Great message.
I love that we never have to have it all figured out. We just need to say yes to Jesus.
I served once with a man who said the trip would stretch him. He knew that going in. What a lesson in life and maturity–even though he was much younger than I was.
What a powerful message! Thanks for this reminder that I can’t do it on my own. I’m so thankful for God and His mercy to remind me of that daily!
Amen, Yvonne. I felt the same way after going to Africa years ago and other mission trips even in the U.S. And life often does get in the way. I love your tweet about how God doesn’t need our help. So true, but oh how blessed we are when we labor for kingdom work at His beckoning.
It is a humbling thing to know that we can do no great things without God, but then again, we were never meant to. It’s because He desires relationship with us, and knowing we can’t do things on our power to change the world forces us to rely on Him. He’s so smart! 😉 Blessings, Lisa Q
My agenda I know can get in God’s way. It’s a life pursuit for me, to listen and hear His way, rather than mine! I love all the scripture you shared and diving deeper into Galatians 6:9. Thanks!
This is great Yvonne. We definitely have to keep in mind that God can do anything, and He allows us to be a part of the anything process!