Lessons in Portugal: God Only Sends Us Where He's Going

     (A street we went down in Portugal)

My husband and I have been blessed to spend a few days resting and exploring in Portugal. The house we are staying at is massive and gorgeous. It is a house we would never have dreamed we'd stay in or have to ourselves because it is above our means, but God always provides.

      As I sat outside near the pool and spent time with God, I was awestruck by the fact that we were in Portugal (in this house) and heading to speak in England in a few days. I looked at my Bible and thought about all the places it has been with me (America, England, Scotland, Bermuda, and Portugal). I've always wanted to travel the world but never thought it would be as extensive as it has been. God has literally doubled where I've gone since my time committed to Him. Not to mention how many other countries He's allowed me to reach through this blog (Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Honduras, etc). When God called me to reach His people, I never thought it would look this extensive because I only looked at what I believed I was capable of (or what I thought was realistic).

      In my amazement of all that God has allowed me to be a part of and experience, God reaffirmed a lesson He's taught me a number of times: When God sends you, He goes. My time in the Bible today was spent on Exodus chapter 3. It is the portion of Scripture about Moses' encounter with God through the burning bush. It is the point when God commissions Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into freedom. The Lord tells him that He has heard His people's cries and says, "So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey...And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:8-10 NIV).

      I was struck by the fact that God said He came down to rescue His people and take them out of the land and THEN told Moses to go. When God sends us, we often only hear our role and the go part. We don't hear the part where God tells us He is going. We cower, make excuses, avoid, and sometimes run because we think we're doing it on our own, but actually God is doing it through us. He is making the way and seeing it through. It won't be done because we become more equipped or learn to speak better. It will be done because God is in this. 

      When God sends me, I have to fight through the mental attacks (just as Moses did) saying that I am not ready or that I can't do it. I constantly have to remind myself that if God sent me, then it's because He's coming as well. God's commission is a Spirit empowered plan. We need to stop letting fear get the best of us because it is often used as the enemy's tool to keep us from seeing God's plan through.

      It's okay to be afraid, but use it as a reminder of what you would be incapable of without God. Let it remind you to be soaked in His presence and to be laced with the Holy Spirit's power. If you do, then your obedience will bear fruit and be a testimony of how powerful, faithful, and in control God is. 

      My life and experiences are a testimony of that truth. There is no other way that I would be where I am now (physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally). I am not qualified enough in my own right to do all that I have but God has led me here. He has consistent gone before me to set things up and He has gone with me to see it through.

      If you feel God calling you to something, someone, or someplace, remember that you are not going on your own. He's sent you because it is where He's going. Rest assured, God always shows up to His appointments.