A Time of Waiting Equals a Time to be Faithful

There are just 26 more days until I head back to Bible school for my final semester and I will be preparing to graduate this coming December. What's next, you may ask? That is a great question! One that I don't fully have the answer to yet, however I realize that I will never fully have the answer to anything.  This is something God is constantly pushing my way and teaching me to trust Him and walk in obedience.

As I have been home for the summer, I have been truly blessed with an incredible opportunity to intern with my church and begin partnering with them in taking the Gospel of Christ to the nations. My desire and my prayer is that one day God will send me out to an unreached people group and bless me with another amazing opportunity to bring God's good news to them for the very first time.

The area of the world in which I desire to go is Papua New Guinea. I am not sure why, but for some reason God has shared His heart with me for these people. For well over a year now I have been actively praying for these people and this nation, and have been walking in hopes that God will continue to open the doors in this direction.

However, in Scripture I see that Paul's ultimate goal was to go and preach the Gospel in Rome. He ended up there at the end of his life, but along the way he recognized that God had other plans. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to work in him in such a way that wherever he went he would preach the Gospel. Seeing Rome as the goal, look at how many other churches God established by using a willing vessel named Paul.

I have come up with a four-word phrase that you might think is kind of lame, but it is a reminder to me that I am not in PNG yet.  I will continue to walk in that direction and pray that God will lead me there, but ultimately I must remember that right here right now I have been strategically placed by God in the USA. This is where I am today, so this is where I must be obedient now, and live a life of faithfulness to God here as a willing vessel in His hands.

PNG Pray. USA Today.

As I am in this waiting period, I am reminded of the last two chapters in Exodus. These people were stuck in the middle of a desert, yet within these final chapters, when describing their work and performance and compiling everything together, it says a total of 18 times, "...just as the LORD had commanded..."

I want to live my life in faithful obedience to God even during this time of waiting, because I know every moment that I have is a gift from Him and in all circumstances I want to always thank God knowing that He is good and working all things out for my ultimate benefit (1 Thess. 5:18; Rom. 8:28). I am not working for my salvation; I am working from my salvation out of an outpouring of faith and love for my God and my Creator and my Savior.

Exodus ends by saying that when the LORD was over the tabernacle in the cloud the Israelites knew they were to stay put and to wait upon the LORD. However, when God moved they would faithfully follow His lead. I want this to be a characteristic of how I live my life. That I will stay where He stays and go where He goes. Please continue to pray for me as I journey with Jesus on the road that only He knows.