Did God tell you to?

Sunday night I had the opportunity to break bread with an awesome group of believers from Eastside Baptist Church in Ft. Smith, AR.   I shared with them about Pure Joy International and what God is accomplishing through the ministry and how they could become involved by praying, gifting, giving and going.  Their hearts were so attentive as I shared.  They don't know this (unless they are reading this blog..(smile) ) but their hearts for God were an encouragement to me!

Then Monday night I made my way to Vilonia, AR where I sat down with our ladies from this part of the state that will be traveling to Tanzania with us in November.   It was soooo sweet to hear their hearts for God as they shared about some of their life journeys with each other and as we prayed together for one another, for the missionary women that have registered for the retreat, and for all the provision for the trip.  Only in Christ can complete strangers meet and be of one accord so quickly! 

Then…Tuesday I made it to Searcy, AR to visit with Pastor Hays of Valley Baptist Church.  Wow, what a sweet spirit this man has for the things of God.   Melinda and I had the privilege of being part of their missions conference in early spring.  Pastor Hays took a great liking to the mission of Pure Joy International which is "To help keep our missionaries and missionary families on the field of service where God has called them to serve."  As leaders in ministry our pastors and their families are very aware of how trying it can be when you are a target for the enemy on the front lines of ministry.  Therefore, they can relate to those missionaries on the front lines overseas.  Pastor Hays and I had a great visit and there are several women from their church prayerfully considering being a part of our Burkina Faso team.  I can't wait to see what God is up to with our Burkina Faso team as it is coming together.

Last week I had a dear sister call me up and say “I believe God has put it on my heart to go to Burkina Faso with you.”  I love that soooo much!  God does put the teams together according to His good will and pleasure…which brings me to the head line of this blog today, "Did God tell you to?"

Many times women that are considering travelling with us will automatically ask me, "How much is the trip going to cost?”  I always respond with, "That's the wrong question.”  The question is "Has God been stirring your heart about this trip, at this time, to this particular group of women?"  If the answer to that question is "yes" then He will take care of making sure you have the provision to go.   I was talking to the Missions Coordinator from Valley Baptist church Tuesday after my time with the pastor and shared this thought with her.  She told me that it made so much sense.  She went on to tell me how so many times people look at what they can afford first and base their decisions on that.  I agreed that I see that in ministry all the time.   Therefore, so many times we in the body of Christ miss out on seeing God do the seemingly impossible.  We depend on our resources or lack of to make our decisions instead of trusting God. 

So I ask you today, consider this....how many decisions are you making about your life that leave Christ out because you are measuring your choices by your own resources (what you can do)?  We in the body of Christ are weak in our "faith" because we decide for God, based on our provision instead of His Word and then trusting Him to provide for whatever is needed in our marriages, families, churches, ministries, businesses, etc. 

So, has God stirred your heart to do something that you immediately step away from because you are looking at it from a worldly, physical, and emotional perspective?  If so, roll up those pants legs and let's do a little "water walking, Peter!"  On Christ this solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!

Love you all,

His,

Vickie