India

Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

How Can I Not Go?

The past two nights I have been awakened with India heavily on my mind. An anxiety filled my mind the last, but tonight winds blew heavily on our door and awakened me at 3am. Again, I found India front and center in my first thoughts. I tried to deny, tried to go back to sleep, but the winds kept beating against the door, yet Dana slept on. After about thirty minutes I finally gave in and got up, knowing that this time of the morning, however hard it may be, is a time you hear from God clearly, so I arose to seek him expectantly. India, all my friends, all that encompasses that country surrounded me; even in my Facebook feed there Pastor Malik was, first thing in my feed. I knew, and I confess reluctantly, that it was time to really start praying about possibly returning to India. I have said before, after all I experienced in those two weeks; “I would never go back, and I can’t imagine not going back.”

I sat down at my desk, ready to pray, and felt led to get my India Bible from the basement where I had left it from OneSimpleChurch. I retrieved it and entered into the presence of the Lord in humble prayer regarding what I knew he was laying on my heart. That wind began to howl, and I felt an intense presence of the Holy Spirit. I also felt an attack of doubt by the enemy, but it was short lived, for the presence of Light dis-spells darkness. As I pled my heart in question, wanting confirmation of what I was feeling, God spoke in my spirit to me, “You know.” So crystal clear, I began to weep, for I knew I had heard from God. You cannot be in the presence of the Lord and not be in tears, that I can assure you my friends. I was so incredibly moved by the mercy and grace he has shown me, especially in recent days, I simply pled for “why me?” It is times like this that I am leveled by the love that God bestows upon us; even in the midst of daily failures, he never gives up on hearts that seek him, even when it doesn’t seem so.

I have no clue what lies next, no different from the last trip, just being obedient to what God has clearly laid on my heart. Scared, you bet. Excited to see heavenly brothers and sisters and the power of God at work, at a level you can’t imagine. The level of the power of prayer last time sustained and provided on heavenly realms. I am thankful that this year, I have felt that call earlier, to allow and more time for prayerful preparation. I ask you to join me in seeking God’s will for this trip, and the laborers he calls into this harvest with us.