Perseverance

IBS 6

Luke 8:11-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

Reading this verse I think about this new season in my life. God has called me to leave everything and everyone I know and love so dearly; to step into the unknown territory of living on my own in Guatemala. In my first two weeks of being here I was tested in my own relationship with the Lord beyond what I thought I could bare. I arrived in Guatemala to many new faces, new voices and diverse personalities. My heart was overwhelmed at the fact that I was so far away from what I called, “home.” Every day I was faced with a new internal battle of dying to myself. My heart being in such a sensitive state, the devil took his opportunities to create chaos in my mind; telling me that I couldn’t  handle this next year, that I wasn’t strong enough, that people weren’t going to like me, I wasn’t worthy. One morning as I was reading my Bible and spending time with Jesus, the Lord gave me Isaiah 42:6: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles.” The Lord confronted me with some very simple, yet loaded questions. Do you actually trust Me? Do you actually trust Me with the people you love? Do you trust Me with your heart? Do you truly believe I am who I say I am? Do you believe I will do what I say I will do? I had the opportunity to allow His word take root in my heart, or turn from His word and face my battles on my own; denying Him my trust. The work the Lord does in me isn’t always as fast as I want it to be, I don’t always see what He’s doing in and through me. That is why this verse in Luke says “…bear fruit with patience.” But I know I can rest in His promises; because it is not up to me to fulfill the promises He gives me. Psalm 1 says blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night. The words “I trust the Lord” so easily flow out of my mouth; and now I have the choice to daily put my trust in Him or take matters into my own hands. The truth is I am weak; I am unworthy, I am not strong enough, I can’t handle the tasks God has set before me. But praise Him for He is faithful to complete that which He calls us to. It is He who completes the work, not me. Let His word take root. 

Application: When I am tempted to doubt the call of the Lord or the work of the Lord, I will read Isaiah 42:6. I will seek to delight myself in His word by running to my Bible to find my strength, my rest, my peace, in Him; allowing His word to take deeper root in my heart as I pursue Him. I will ask Kenadie to hold me accountable to this.