He is in control

Well it is exactly 12am....

It is now Thursday March 10, 2011 and I will be on my way to Africa in a couple of hours!

So far I have triple checked my packing list, walked around the house aimlessly(in circles), had three cups of coffee, and I am now officially bouncing off the walls!

I can tell a good nights sleep is on its way! :)

I have had several short conversations with the Lord tonight telling him about my fears...

you know like....

"Lord, please help me not to be afraid to use the potty on the plane"

"Lord, please protect me from big animals"

"Lord, please help me to not to have bad withdraws from lack of caffeine"

Yes, these might seem kida funny, but in all reality these are a few of the little things that I have started to wonder about.

As I began to think about these things, I realized how convenient and easy I must have things when I am spending my time worrying about caffeine withdraws.
Of course my heart is concerned about other things that will happen, but I was very humbled tonight as I realized that my concerns with these silly things were nothing more than selfishness!

The Lord called me several months ago to really make the effort to go to Africa and leave the comforts of home.

The Lord strongly confirmed this when I read in Isaish 58.
In this chapter Isaiah is talking about true fasting for the Lord. This spoke to me because I really wanted to be authentic in my service to Him and put myself in a position that might seem uncomfortable in order to obey Him.
In verse 7 -9 it says that, " Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry and He will say, "Here I am" ...."

The Lord promised right then and there that He would protect me as I went out to help those that were hurting!

So why have I been struggling with worry of small things tonight?

I guess its because we are all subject to worry and fear. The most wonderful thing is that our Lord is never afraid!
He is in complete control of our comings and goings and He can see ahead of us!
Fear always happens in our lives when we feel like we have lost control.

When we dont have control of our future because of circumstances, we worry what will happen to us.
When we dont have control of our health, we worry about how we will turn out.
When we cant control a situation, we worry how things will align with the plans we have made.

SOOOOOO
maybe if we release that control into the Lord's capable hands, we wouldn't worry so much.
The Lord does know that we will worry...He uses those times in your life to cause you to draw closer to Him;but He doesnt want you to live in worry!
Because we want control of our lives we have a hard time releasing our plans to Him...but if He knows better and He sees beyond what we can see...then why shouldnt we just trust HIM???

I struggle with this just as much as anyone else....but this trip is really teaching me about releasing my grip to Him.
I didnt realize I would learn so much before I even set foot on African soil!

I want to encourage each of you to seek out the areas in your life where you feel you have no control. Is that lack of control causing you deep worry and fear?
Be honest with God about it (He already knows anyways)

Whatever area you feel you have no control I promise that you will find those are the areas you spend you time worrying about.
My prayer for each of you is that you would find a way to slowly release your grip on the control you are holding and allow the Lord to take control!
I promise He is much better at the control thing :) (trust me...I am learning the hard way)

Whatever you are going through or dealing with in your life right now....just know that Jesus longs to help you!
He created you and He is working everything out in your life for the good!

I will be praying for each of you while I am away!
I love each of you in a special way and I look forward to telling you about my journey!

Oh how He loves you and me!!!!


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