Trust, Believe, and Co-Labor...

I emailed this to a friend...thought I'd post it. Maybe it will bless you....

God has our best in mind. The tough part is trusting.... grrrrr I hate not knowing!!! I'm in the same boat. we are having to take one step at a time. It's as if God illuminates a step then we take it. Then we wait.... then He illuminates another step....then we take it... hehe... I'm like LORD! Show me the whole picture! I know we're headed somewhere! But I guess He wants to stretch our faith to trust. If you really have a heart to go to Africa...I'm sure you will end up going...if not now, in the future. I was told....and this may help you as it did me. To try and define what it is you would like to see happen in your ministry. Like articulate....even envision it in your mind...what you see yourself doing. As you get it in your spirit and continually bring it to God, your faith increases. I think sometimes, we just wander aimlessly through life waiting for God to slap something down in our lap. But I have found that it's more of a co-laboring. Where God has a plan for our lives....but He is requiring us to engage our faith and that usually requires risk and action in some form...whether it be simply embarrassment or financial risk or whatever.... I think we begin to launch according to the desires of our hearts and God tweaks it as we go...and even brings us above and beyond all we could ask or think. So I try to do as much as I can....being mindful, that i am OVER (totally) trying to MAKE something happen. I think a lot of what happens is waiting... grrrrr I hate that! hehe. But God is working behind the scenes for our good all the time. Constantly. So we need to engage our faith by taking whatever steps are available. Even a phone call to someone can open up possibilities, knowledge, connections, etc. Its a co labor. I really feel for ya right now and pray you are not discouraged by it all. I know what it's like to be in that situation. But i can just tell you as I'm sure others have...and I'm sure you know. That God is faithful. And he will not be indebted to any man. He loves you so much and will do exceedingly above all you can ask or think. Just keep pressing in. Keep pursuing. Keep engaging your faith. Faith is the stuff of heaven. It's the substance of things hoped for. It is substance. REAL. So if you can see it in your spirit and know it's there in your gut. It's as good as if it was there in the natural. It's as real as that and it will come to pass. Just believe and trust. And even in your weakness He is strong and able to make you stand. It's not about the cicle of days and months so much that determines your faith. It's the years. Abraham blew it...a few times....but he kept pursuing. So in Hebrews....the Bible tells us he was faithful. That He was the man of faith. Not becaus eof the microcosm of his day to day....but when you pull back you see the big picture and his pursuit of God. he didn't give up and he DID believe!