“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 1:6
Over a year ago the Lord began working on my heart about going into full-time mission work. Through some bad situations at work, I was left looking to the Lord for what He wanted for my life. I knew He wanted more from me personally than just sitting in a cubicle pushing paper. I knew I was meant for more. What that looked like, I wasn’t sure. So, I began searching after the Lord. He then made it clear that He wanted me to leave everything and come work full-time for Adventures in Missions. Little did I know all that the Lord would have in-store for me in the process.
After fighting with God and trying to hold on to certain things in my life, I finally decided to hand it all over to Him and step out in complete faith. At the time I don’t think I fully understood what “stepping out in faith” meant. I love looking back now and realizing that God’s timing truly is perfect. If He would have provided everything I needed in order to leave a few months after I made the decision, I would not have been ready to go. He had to use that year of preparation to mold me and teach me what it meant to truly depend on Him for everything.
As I sit her in Georgia, one year and 3 months after making the decision to go, I realize that the plans that God has for me are truly perfect and completely on His time schedule, not my own. I must admit, it feels pretty surreal to finally be here. It is one thing to talk about serving full-time, but to actually be in the midst of it and it becoming a reality can be somewhat overwhelming. I am so thankful that being used of God is not dependent on my own strength or anything I could do of my own ability. He has me here as a vessel for Him to use me, pure and simple.
I have had a lot of people say to me that they don’t know how I do it. How do I have the confidence to leave everything and step out into the unknown? I have even had many people tell me that they wish they could do something like that, but it is usually followed with many reasons why they can’t. Every person’s situation is different, but my response is always the same. I am fearful at times. It is scary. But if I never take that first step of faith that the Lord is telling me to take, than I will never know what He truly has for my life. If I continue to stay in the same place just because it is comfortable, than I will never truly know how to live in the freedom that Christ provides. I don’t want to settle just because Im comfortable. Fear is natural, but if you let fear keep you from doing what God has for you than you will never truly live.
I am currently reading a book by Joyce Meyer called “The Confident Woman.” The first chapter deals with this very thing. She writes, “Throughout history God has used ordinary people to do amazing, extraordinary things. Yet, all of them had to take a step of faith first. They had to confidently press forward into the unknown or unfamiliar before making any progress.” She continues to say, “Satan is the master of intimidation, but once you realize that he is the one behind all of our hesitation, you can take authority over him by simply placing confidence in Jesus Christ and stepping out boldly to be all you can be.”
I am passionate about helping people see how much God has for them if they would only take that first step. It doesn’t mean fear won’t be present. It just means that you must fight through the fear into action so God can use you. There are many days that I struggle with some form of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough, fear of what the future may hold, etc. but these feelings are not from God; they are from the adversary. I will therefore fight through all the fears so I may be used to accomplish all that God wants for my life. Fear can paralyze us and keep us from being used to our full potential. God has a unique calling for everyone’s life, but no matter what your calling may be, don’t let fear keep you from realizing that calling. God has so much out there for each and every person. He wants to use you if you would just take that first step. It may take 3 months, it may take a year and 3 months or it may take longer than that for God to bring His plan to fruition in your life, but we can rest in the knowledge that His timing is perfect and all we have to do is hang on for the ride!
God Bless!
For His Glory,
Caroline 🙂
Ps. 56:3-“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
