I went to a church in Seoul this weekend. It was amazing. The Bible study that I have been in during orientation, and the little daily morning group have been a blessing to me indeed, but I really needed something a little deeper. Especially since I will be going off on my own into my school and homestay next week. It was good to be reminded that God is bigger than whatever I may be facing.
The sermon was from the beginning of Genesis 12, in which God sends Abram out from his country and promises to bless him once he leaves. What a timely message! The contrast between Abram's job and God's job is stark, indeed. God asks for Abram to leave, to trust in Him, to have faith in His word. The rest is up to God.
God doesn't ask for great faith from us; He simply asks us to have faith in a great God. All God wants from us is obedience. I'm sure if you had asked Abraham before he became the father of many nations, that he would have never in a million years predicted that he would have ever become that. Similarly, if you had asked me 5 years ago how I envisioned the course of my life to go, I would have never ever thought that I would be here in South Korea working as an English teacher for a year.
But God simply wants us to take the first step. We don't have to be able to see the whole path. We don't even have to know where the first step will go. We simply have to be willing to listen to His voice, and to obey Him when He asks something of us. One step at a time. Just listen to the promptings that He whispers into your spirit.
So often it's so easy to forget that God blesses people through us. We are not independent statues; we are an interconnected web. The Bible says that the Lord would bless others through Abraham. Equally, He wants to bless others through you. God's Mission is so much bigger than simply missions. We are all missionaries, whether we are full-time "vocational" missionaries or not. The only difference between us and vocational missionaries is that, while we ARE on the mission field, our heart may not be.
If the idea of blessing others seems more like a burden than a privilege to you, it is because you have forgotten how blessed you are. God will bless others through you, but you have to let Him do it. But whenever you hesitate to do so, go back to Genesis 12. Look at Abraham. Remind yourself of the grand scope of God's plans - so much bigger than you could ever imagine. Don't miss out on His blessings. Don't miss out on letting Him bless others through you. The consequences may be greater than you could ever imagine.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
The sermon was from the beginning of Genesis 12, in which God sends Abram out from his country and promises to bless him once he leaves. What a timely message! The contrast between Abram's job and God's job is stark, indeed. God asks for Abram to leave, to trust in Him, to have faith in His word. The rest is up to God.
God doesn't ask for great faith from us; He simply asks us to have faith in a great God. All God wants from us is obedience. I'm sure if you had asked Abraham before he became the father of many nations, that he would have never in a million years predicted that he would have ever become that. Similarly, if you had asked me 5 years ago how I envisioned the course of my life to go, I would have never ever thought that I would be here in South Korea working as an English teacher for a year.
But God simply wants us to take the first step. We don't have to be able to see the whole path. We don't even have to know where the first step will go. We simply have to be willing to listen to His voice, and to obey Him when He asks something of us. One step at a time. Just listen to the promptings that He whispers into your spirit.
So often it's so easy to forget that God blesses people through us. We are not independent statues; we are an interconnected web. The Bible says that the Lord would bless others through Abraham. Equally, He wants to bless others through you. God's Mission is so much bigger than simply missions. We are all missionaries, whether we are full-time "vocational" missionaries or not. The only difference between us and vocational missionaries is that, while we ARE on the mission field, our heart may not be.
If the idea of blessing others seems more like a burden than a privilege to you, it is because you have forgotten how blessed you are. God will bless others through you, but you have to let Him do it. But whenever you hesitate to do so, go back to Genesis 12. Look at Abraham. Remind yourself of the grand scope of God's plans - so much bigger than you could ever imagine. Don't miss out on His blessings. Don't miss out on letting Him bless others through you. The consequences may be greater than you could ever imagine.
Genesis 12:1-4
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
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