"I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness; riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow upon you a title of honor though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God; I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun, to the place of its setting, men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other." Isaiah 45:2-7
In reading through this passage in Isaiah, the Holy Spirit opened my weak and weary eyes to the power in these truths, and connected their power to the work I will be doing in India:
"I will go before you and will level the mountains." This part of the verse makes a me laugh a little, in light of the volcano in Iceland that has been "leveling the mountain" for the past few weeks. Mountains have always stirred a deep-seeded awe in my heart, their peaks glowing with a sense of majesty and unmatched power. My mind immediately leans back into my memories of climbing Kilimanjaro...
The mountain humbled me—swallowing me in its towering greatness and vast expanse that drove upwards into a deep cerulean sky that must have been painted by God himself. Her might was evident—her strength emanated in the air that grazed jagged cliffs, crumbled stone faces, exotic rainforests, deserts and sand—sending shudders of awe trickling down my spine. Her beauty was majestic, white laced caps unfurling through parted clouds—unfaltering peaks that rose to the heavens....
And yet the challenge, the trial, the test, and the pain she represented was daunting. My 6-weeks in India feel much the same way---a beautiful opportunity to love and serve my sisters half-way across the globe--but a daunting experience to be "alone" (God will be there :) in a 3rd world country that I have never been to, for a month and a half, teaching nutrition and baking classes and administering job skills training to victims of sex-trafficking, none of which I have done before....a teensy tinsy bit scary haha. But God's promise to go before me, and level the mountain of fear that is building in my heart, is now flooding me with the peace of the Holy Spirit.
"I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron...so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name..." Gates and bars have entrapped many of the victims of sex-trafficking for 1, 2, 10, even 15 years of their lives, not only locking them inside brothels and buildings as well as chaining them to bedposts... but imprisoning their hearts in cells of fear and horror and violence and abuse and darkness and hopelessness. My prayer for these six weeks--is that the LORD would demonstrate the power of this promise---that God's love for these women would be able to tear down gates and cut through bars that are guarding their hearts, and that they would know and feel and be sure of the perfect healing love of Christ. That the women would know that they matter--they have a purpose, a value and worth far beyond their dreams, and they are being summoned by their Father who created them to find refuge in His wings and promises and grace.
"For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow upon you a title of honor though you do not acknowledge me..." During this past year, I have been overwhelmingly aware of my own weaknesses and imperfections, especially my failure to acknowledge the majesty and holiness of Jesus Christ. My life is so much about me, though all I want is Him. My thoughts are worries about my own future, though all I need is Him. My heart is full of repentance of my shortcomings and thankfulness for the most valuable title in the world: "His daughter", because I know I have not done/ cannot do/ and will not do anything to deserve it. My hope is that during these 6 weeks my title as "His daughter" would overpower "Emily," and that His Name would cover mine, that His life would cover mine, that His Love would cover me, that He would become greater, and I would become less. (John 3:30)
"I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God; I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me..." ..."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9 I long for the sufficiency of God's grace to real to me and the women I am with in India...that we would embrace our weakness in knowing that through brokenness we are made perfect in Him...that we would know that His grace overpowers all things-- in all "insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties" (2 Cor. 12: 10)---He is sovereign.
"... so that from the rising of the sun, to the place of its setting, men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other." My prayer is that the love of Christ would not only permeate the Rahab's Rope center in Bangalore...but that love would spill over into the shadows of brothels, the mud homes of slums, the streets of India, to the dorm rooms at Vanderbilt... That this 6 week trip would not be a month and a half experience, but it would be the beginning of a life-long journey of compassion and healing and service.
God is oh so good, all the time.
ELW
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