“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I
say rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 reminds us to have a spirit of praise
in all circumstances. It does not say to rejoice in the good, when
ministry is smooth and all things are going the way you pictured
them. Nor does it say to give up in times of struggle. It says to
ALWAYS rejoice, to be in a spirit of praise through thick and thin!
The past few weeks have been a battle.
Living in Uganda means you are surrounded by images of poverty,
brokenness, and death on a daily basis. That alone will encourage
anyone to lose a spirit of praise. But of course, that is not all I
deal with. Lately, it seems like everything is coming down at one
time. Dear people in my life are struggling, including people back in
the States. These are people who I use to be there to hold a hand
through difficult times, and now they are going through something
else and I am halfway around the world. A couple have confessed they
wished I were there instead, and no matter how much I want to be
there for them, the truth is I am where I am suppose to be. They
understand. I understand. But it still puts an aching in each heart.
I keep fighting attack after attack when it comes to ministry, and
the last blow came at the immigration office, where they said they
would not extend my stamp to December, but I would need to go home a
month early. *Disclaimer* I have discovered a few different options
and should still be able to stay in the country. These are all blows
to my heart, which weakens my spirit. This is the state the enemy
wants me. Here he feels as though he can pull me away from the work
God called me to. If I let my aching heart lose hope, then I will
walk away from the people God wanted me to love on.
I must keep a spirit of praise. I need
to always be rejoicing in the goodness of my Savior. When I am in a
constant state of praise, then I find myself in the presence of God
all the time. During times of sorrow, there is no other place I
rather be! In His presence, I always have loving arms to cry in and
Someone to wipe my tears away. He strengthens me to keep fighting,
and reminds me of His love on the cross, which brought me salvation.
Even through the heart break I find myself in, I continue to praise
God. He fills me with hope, as I remind myself that Christ is coming
back. He is coming back to rescue His bride, the Church. I refuse to
miss that day! And I continue to praise Him because I can do nothing
to repay such love. Even through the times of people I continue to
pour into do whatever they can to hurt me, I will continue to pour
into them so they can join me on that glorious day.
I choose to rejoice in every situation.
This is what God calls me to, and I know it is for my good. I have
been called to always rejoice, and rejoicing always I will aspire.
*Final Disclaimer* I really don't know
everyone who reads my blog, and I don't really write it for people. I
write it because it is great therapy! But I realize this post makes
me sound like I am losing my zeal for this whole missions thing.
Totally the opposite! I love what I do, and thank God everyday that
He called me to a life of missions. However, there are days where it
feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest, and I get
discouraged. Yet I still have a giant smile on my face every day out
of pure joy for what I do. I would not change my life for anything in
the world!
Comments
Post a Comment