A Call to Endure

It's crazy to think that I have already been gone for three weeks.  People weren't kidding when they said this flies by.  Our schedule here is so busy that I seriously have to stop somedays and think of what day it is, and next thing I know the week is over.  There has been so much going on here and I feel like I have barely had time to process everything.  Praise the Lord for a day off to process. I also apologize if this is kind of scatterbrained.  Ministry here in Slovenia is very challenging.  Amidst this being a challenge, I recognize more and more how much I need to be reminded of the Gospel in my life.  As I continue to share the Gospel with students around this city I am overwhelmed by my daily need for the Lord.  The Gospel literally is good news and there are moments where I am brought to tears while sharing it with other students.  The Gospel is powerful, and the power is within God's message.  I am only the messenger.  I have no control over the power of the Gospel and how others may receive it, I can not add anything to it nor can I take anything from it.  Through this, I am reminded more and more of how beautiful this message is.  Earlier this week I was reminded of a passage in Romans 10:13-15 

"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

After reading this passage it hit me - there are people in the country of Slovenia (and everywhere in this world) who cannot call upon the name of the Lord.  As I look at my life and see how God has completely redeemed me and in the trials I go through in life, that I am able to call upon His name.  He delivers me, He walks with me through life, God is my strength, my purpose, literally my everything, and there are people who cannot experience this joy in life.  God's love is deep, unconditional, intimate, and personal.

There are moments where I am overwhelmed by everything God is teaching me through this experience.  Lately I feel as though I've been learning a lot about suffering and enduring through suffering.  I mentioned a little bit in an earlier post about suffering for the Gospel.  I believe suffering can happen in many different forms.  In 2 Timothy, Paul continually reminds Timothy of his (Paul's) suffering for the Gospel.  He is writing to Timothy from prison because of the Gospel.  Even while Paul is suffering in prison for the Gospel, the message of the Gospel is not chained - it spreads!  Paul encourages Timothy to endure through suffering.  Suffering is real, but for the Gospel it is worth it.  James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  Man, considering trials pure joy is not always my first response.  I so wish that it was my first response to a trial, but this just goes to show how much I need the Lord daily in my brokenness.  My human nature is broken, just like the nonbelievers that I am sharing the Gospel with.  I need the Gospel in my life just as much as they do.  There have been many different trials to face on this trip, being in a different culture, not understanding people when they talk in Slovene, being persecuted in such a way of people making fun of me for believing in God, believing lies in my mind, being homesick, and many more.  Ministry is not easy and the enemy wants nothing more than to keep the Gospel from spreading.  My strength to stand against and persevere through those trials is in God alone.  If anything, these trials are drawing me closer to the Lord because He is the one who is able to deliver me from them and walk with me through them.  John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  I could go on and on with scripture that compels me to endure suffering for the Gospel and to walk with Jesus.  I am continually reminded that the goal of following Jesus is Jesus.  I pray that my heart desires to seek after Jesus.  I pray that I endure through suffering and experience pure joy amidst it.  This morning while I was praying, I found myself being thankful for the trials and suffering in my life.  If that's what draws me closer to the Lord and allows me to intimately know Him more, then I am thankful.  I pray that I trust Jesus and His promises to deliver, heal, and redeem me.  There is so much hope in the power and love of Christ.