So I'm starting to get the impression that God's testing me to see just how much I mean "I'll go anywhere" and "I'll do anything" for Him. I'm not a big fan of drawing attention to myself and I truly don't want to become one of those weirdo Christians that people are totally turned off by, but it seems God keeps putting me in positions where I end up doing these really strange things for Him.
Two weeks ago, we were praying in one of the local churches and I felt like God was telling me I needed to go outside and pray in the doorway of the church with one hand on each side of the door frame. I basically looked like the incredible hulk trying to topple the building with my brute strength! It was weird and uncomfortable, and it happened to being during the exact week when hundreds of people were trekking through our village on their way to see the Virgin of Cisne (so a bunch of people watched me do this!). But, it also felt right and I felt like God was using it somehow to speak to me and through me (I seem to keep saying this in my posts...but I promise I am not weird!).
Then today we went to prayer-walk in Gera, a community that is about 30 minutes from our home base. I've been there a few times now...to pray and just to look around....and one of my favorite spots is on the edge of this cliff where you can see all these mountains and the valleys collide...Mixed with the river below and the sky above, it's absolutely breath taking! Pretty much my whole team loves this spot, so we all walked there from the center of town to pray.
I had it all planned out. I had brought my bible and my journal, and found the perfect spot to sit down and pray and seek God for this community. I was ready! Apparently God didn't get the memo about my plans though, because after a little bit of praying and journaling, I felt like God was telling me I needed to get up and walk a little ways down the dirt road we had just walked up, back towards the center of town. Honestly...I debated with Him and myself about obeying. And believe me, I can come up with all sorts of reasons as to why I should do things my way and not God's way. But in the end...as it should be...God's will won out and I went.
I didn't walk very far back down the road before I felt like God was telling me I could stop. I had just passed these two mud brick houses and was standing about five feet from a horse, whose rider was walking the yard doing who knows what, when I felt God tell me to look up and see the view of the city before me. Then he told me to do the most ridiculous thing....He said to stretch out my arms towards the "city" and pray for it, out loud!
I'm not going to lie....I looked around me and when I realized the man in the yard was watching me, I tried to get out of it. I mean, it wasn't like I heard the audible voice of God...this was just something I felt in my spirit that He was saying....so I didn't really have to do it...did I?!?! I did! I knew I did. I could feel it inside of me...the welling up of heat that I couldn't explain, sweaty palms, a faster heart-rate. All of this said to me....this is of God....OBEY HIM! So I did...I stretched out my hands and began to pray! And God totally overwhelmed me....tears streamed down my face...and I cried out for the people there to turn back to God.
I really don't know why God keeps calling me to do these seemly strange things. Maybe it's for the people we are serving, but honestly, I think He does it to break something or work on something in me. It's like God's trying to train me to obey Him in the small things so that some day when He calls me to do something much bigger and much more ridiculous sounding than praying in a door frame and stretching out my hands towards a city center, I will just do it...no questions asked! I don't know...maybe I'm being too "spiritual" about it all...or maybe I'm starting to get a little weird. Who knows. But if it is God...I'm open to Him...and I'm excited to see where He is leading me in all this (Just please don't make me too weird Lord! Amen!).
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