Obedience and Trust...Even When it Seems Impossible

When I was in Ethiopia, Africa, God taught me a unique lesson. He taught me that trust and obedience go hand-in-hand.

I didn't know it then, but now I know that God sent me to Ethiopia not only to share about His love with the people of Ethiopia, but to prepare me for something that I'm struggling with now...almost a year later.

As I'm raising support and trying to see past the "impossible" goals up ahead, I'm reminded that we can't do this alone. If God is calling us to do something, we need to be obedient to it (I mean, I don't want to be swallowed by a whale like Jonah) and even if we have no clue why He is calling us to it, we need to trust that His plan is ultimately the best. He will come through, and He will provide.

The song "Sovereign Over Us" by Michael W. Smith is a great reminder of this. The first part of the song goes like this: "There is strength within the sorrow. There is beauty in our tears. And You meet us in our mourning, With a love that casts out fear. You are working in our waiting. You're sanctifying us. When beyond our understanding, You're teaching us to trust. Your plans are still to prosper, You have not forgotten us. You're with us in the fire and the flood. You're faithful forever, Perfect in love. You are sovereign over us." This reminds us that He is sovereign, He is going to come alongside us, and He is not going to abandon us.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." We were created to be a part of the masterpiece of God. We have a specific place in the big picture of His Kingdom work; a destiny that only we were meant to fill. The journey wasn't created for us, instead, we were created for the journey.

We need to realize that we were created for Gods glory, and that we need to see where He is calling...and follow. Trust that He will carry us, and that He designed us for a greater purpose. When we obey Gods calling, and trust that when our strength is gone, His will carry us, we open the door for many amazing possibilities. He will use us to do great and mighty things for His Kingdom.

Are you following Gods calling on your life? Are you planning your life and then asking God to come alongside you, or are you asking God where He is going and fitting yourself into His journey? Maybe His calling is scary...such as going around the world to be a missionary, or maybe scary in the sense of financially supporting a missionary, and not knowing where the money is coming from. Obey first, trust second. He will come through.

A good friend of mine reminded me of this just yesterday. She felt that God was calling her to support me financially, and she knew that she couldn't argue with God, but she wasn't sure why He was calling her to do this, since she wants to go on the mission field as well. She wrote in her letter, "Faith is believing in the unseen. I'm stepping out in Faith with this. I want this money to signify something bigger. NOTHING is too big for Him!"

I want to encourage you to follow where God is calling you, and trust Him to provide. Things that seem impossible aren't impossible to God. Remember that He is sovereign and that He will open and close the doors necessary!