Whenever we reach the 15th of the month, I am always aware that the month is now closer to being over than beginning. January, like those before it, has gone by quickly. Three and a half months I have now lived in this country.
The middle of the month also reminds me that I should blog. My goal is to post about twice a month….So it is no surprise (at least not to me) that I sit here writing on January 15. I have been meaning to write for a few days, and each time I think about it I cannot decide what to say. Often there is an external pressure to have some measurable progress to or some praise report to send home, as if I needed to continually prove to those I left at home that my leaving was worthwhile and making a difference.
Right now my team is still in the beginning stages of being here and the majority of our time and energy is spent struggling through learning language. Things can seem slow at times, but God gave me a good reminder through a team devotional that hit home for me and is applicable in any believer’s life.
Much of what God is working on is not visible until complete, and He has given us no promise to show us how He is using our lives.
When we remember that God works in the unseen and that He can use our words and actions even when we are unaware, we realize there is no way to measure and quantify our effect on those around us. For instance, I have not yet prayed with anyone here to receive Christ as Lord and Savior; however, I have friends here to whom I have told that I am a believer and have shared about the cross. These friends may never choose Jesus while I am here, but that does not mean that God has not been using me.
God does not owe it to me to show me whose lives He has used me to influence. Instead, I owe it to Him to continue living and walking in His ways even if I do not see “measurable results”.
Hand in hand with this is the importance of prayer. If we know that God moves in an invisible realm, we also need to know that prayer influences this realm. Again we do not always know the results of our prayers, but they are powerful. As I keep praying for the Kingdom’s advance here in the hearts of those I know, please continue praying for me.