If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11
I’ve had to do a lot of learning and letting go this month. Mostly, letting go of my own will, so that God’s will can be done.
I realized that if I want to understand the people of this new culture, if I want doors to be opened for sharing my faith, I have to first overcome my own inhibitions and fears. Like last week. Last week I rode the bus. I had a place I needed to be, and the bus was the way to get there, and at a tenth of the price of a taxi (which sounds like a lot, but riding the bus only costs about 20ct, hence the taxi costs about $2). The point is, I got out there! I didn’t want to, but I did.
Will I always ride the bus? Probably not, but I have gained the courage and experience to do so, if and when I need to.
The other thing I did that was hard (for me) was hang out with friends … at midnight. Or rather, they said: “let’s meet at midnight” and then showed up at 1am. Apparently that’s called LMT – Local Maybe Time.
If you know me at all, you know that I’m a strong believer in “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” (Benjamin Franklin). So, meeting at midnight and hanging out til 2am or later is not my idea of fun. Particularly when I have a language class at 9am the next morning. But I did it, with help.
Whose help? For one, I dragged a fellow goer along (there may or may not have been bribery involved).
But more importantly, I asked God for His strength. There is so much I can’t do. So much I really don’t want to do. And that’s the point: I can’t, but God can. I have to stop trying to do everything out of my own strength, so that His strength can become evident in my life. And that means letting go of what is comfortable and familiar, submitting to Christ, and being willing to ride the bus, and stay up late. And who knows, riding the bus and spending time with people when they are available might open doors for sharing the Good News that would have stayed closed if I didn’t let go and let God.