action. response. sacrifice.

i'm not sure why, but my mind has not been able to stop comparing america to kenya. granted i know we are almost 10,000 miles apart physically and maybe even further apart culturally; but to me, the places aren't very far from each other. i am trying to find similarities and trying to find ways to bring the worlds together even when i cannot be there. i am a person who lives in america but also has a huge part of my heart in kenya. i want to be the same person i am here in the states as i am when i am in kenya. and to be honest, sometimes that is really hard to do. constantly people come back from other countries and say, "i learned that the same God over my life in america is the same God over the people of _______". and that is a great and humbling revelation to have. God is bigger than our country and bigger than ourselves. He can work in our lives and also work in the lives of people all around the world at the same time. Praise God for that.
but for me, i am challenged by the way they see the Lord, and the way the Lord has revealed Himself to them. even though we serve the same God, they are seeing God in a way i don't. this is something i continue to say, but something i can not let go of because i desperately want to understand it. i want to see God the way they do. i want to see God as provider and as enough and as the complete joy of my heart and soul. i want to see Him move in ways and through people in a way that only He can and through it, He receives all the glory. i desire to know Him as they do, to BELIEVE in faith that He is who He says He is, and that He will not disown His people or His name.
one of the biggest purposes of faith is to see God more clearly. when we see Him more clearly, we respond to Him in the only way we can- with complete humility and adoration. when we constantly see Him and know Him more, we are giving Him glory. too many times i want to read millions of books and listen to all the wise pastors of the day to better understand the Lord. in so many ways, their words have helped me to grow and change and be transformed. but reading is just reading, and all listening is requiring me to do is sit there and maybe take notes. i may know God more, but i am still missing something.
i am missing ACTION, RESPONSE, SACRIFICE. i am not living by faith, but simply trying to gain more knowledge. yes, by God's grace and Spirit, the knowledge does spur me onto action, but not as often as it should. i know i need a faith that only comes from seeing God. the men and women of faith in the Bible rarely saw God through some books or famous people who were talking to them. they saw God because they walked with Him, obeyed Him, believed Him. and they saw Him show up. they saw Him be faithful to His word and to provide time and time again. they had to take a step, a big step of faith. a step of faith that chooses courage over fear, trust over doubt, and His glory over theirs.
the people i encountered in kenya understood this. maybe if you asked them, they wouldn't even understand the question because they have lived their entire lives doing this, putting their faith into action. the Pastor and his wife, Violet, constantly relied on God for every need. each month they rely on God to provide for their family, for the children of the school, and for the people of mitumba. they are met with challenges daily, but they know they are not alone. they know that the Lord who has provided for them in the past will continue to provide for them each day.
i want to be the type of person who acts boldly when the Lord calls. the kind of person who doesn't hesitate when God says something, but one who obeys and trust with total faith. i want to be available for the Lord to use me, to be able to take a step of faith that i haven't had the courage to take in the past. i want seeing the Lord to be my only vision. because i know that when i see Him more and more, faith is made simpler and cannot be contained; because i see a God who has all things in His hands and whose wisdom is beyond anything i could ever imagine. the things of God make more sense when we see Him more clearly.
the great man of faith, abraham, is said to have known God "face to face". let's pray that we can see God's face more and more, through His word, through teachers, through our faith, through the gifts He has given us, and through action. and He will not disappoint, for He is faithful to draw near to those who draw near to Him. and faithful to give us all that we need when we have our focus on His kingdom and His glory.