I've been wanting to start writing this blog since I've been here, but there's been so much processing going on within my heart that it's taken until now to be able to write it all out.
I can best sum up my first 2 weeks here in saying that it's been time that the Lord has used to work on Lauren! Before I came I knew there were some areas in my heart that I was not allowing God to take control over, but something I've noticed is when I open myself up to the Lord taking inventory on my heart there are things I never knew that I was holding on to on top of what I was aware of. One of my memory verses recently has been Philippians 2:13...
"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
This verse has been my prayer since I've been here....my time here started with 24 wonderful team members from my church and I'm so thankful for the time I had here with them. Their 10 days flew by!
These are people who know me well and know my heart and where I've been so their advice is always welcomed. But, once they left the words of encouragement and what God was showing me in scripture started coming together and my time with the Lord has been so rich!
I've been reading in Joshua which is one of my most favorite books in the Bible! I read it for the first time 3yrs. ago when I was here after I graduated college and that was the summer that I can truly say I fell in LOVE with Jesus! In wanting to celebrate that and rekindle my love for him I decided to walk through it with him once more (and I'm sure not the last ) to revisit what it was about his character I learned and how he pursued me into a deeper relationship with him!
I can identify with the Israelites so well because of their ups and downs they experience in their walk with the Lord. That have def. been moments and times when I forget who is God and I start following my own game plan.
So, I began reading and in Joshua 1 is where God calls Joshua to lead the Israelities into the land God had promised them (hence why it's called the "Promised Land"). This is after Moses has just died and Joshua was his assistant. What strikes me in this passage are the strong commands that God gives to Joshua, BUT not one command is not followed by a promise!
COMMAND v.2 "...the time has come for you to lead..to the land I am giving them"
PROMISE v.3. " I promise you..wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you."
COMMAND v.4 "from the Negev willderness...(and a lot other places that are listed as where he will conquer)
PROMISE v.5 "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or adandon you."
There's more than that but WOW...a lot of strong things he's calling Joshua to do but noting does he command without promising his presence to be with him. He promises him that he WILL NOT FAIL him or abandon him. No person can ever promise that to us! Read Joshua 1 it's incredible how God pours all of this into Joshua and then Joshua shares all these commands and promises with the Israelites!
I share of all this to say while I've been in Nicaragua these first 2 weeks I've been in my own personal Joshua 1. It's been filled with God calling me to step out to "be strong and courageous" in giving him FULL control of the areas that I know he wants to mold! All of which have been followed by him promising to step with me...to make me more like him and give me the "desire and the power to do what pleases him."
These next 2 weeks I feel will be like the second part of Joshua 1...now I get to better pour into the lives of these precious people (in a more authentic and intentional way) to encourage them and remind them on what God promises for all of us. Which in reality they already know so well....but we can all use encouragement! There are several youth in Bethel that we have planned little "dates" throughout the next 2 weeks. One of which stayed here at the project with Matheson and I last night and she is going through some significant transition in her life and it's amazing to see how over the past several days what God has been teaching me is aplicable to her situation (just how Joshua was able to share with the Israelites). I'm so thankful for those opportunities that God puts together here...the feeling of knowing you're in the exact place you need to be!!
