Isn't that beautiful?! I found this verse on Friday and have been pondering on it all weekend. At my hubby's suggestion, it's another "brain dump night." I think my tossing and turning next to him with an active mind makes it challenging for him to fall asleep too. :)
One week ago I received my first rejection letter for my book. Although I was a tiny bit disappointed about it (because honestly who wants to purposely go through rejection?) I am actually relieved and not entirely surprised. There is still so much to do! It would have been a pretty thrown together job and basically cranked out in a few month's timeline to go from rough draft to published book. The 3 blessings Mark gave me before receiving the e-mail had an underlying theme with things like, "You need to learn how to run a marathon with all of this rather than just sprinting." "God will need you long-term, so go at a pace that you and your family won't get burnt out." "The timing is important. There is more to learn and experience. Be patient and you will understand what God has in store." After getting the rejection letter I was ready for another blessing. Mark talked again about the importance of the timing and said, "Think about how much you learn and experience in just 24 hours right now with your active mind, your willing heart, and your eagerness to learn. There is more to learn and experience, so be patient."
The past week has been unreal! Just completely unreal. So many doors have unexpectedly opened and others are poised and at the ready. I did not anticipate so many doors and for them to start opening all at once. I am blown away by the opportunities God is giving me to be an ambassador for Christ! In this week I have been powerfully reminded once again that God uses the willing. As we seek to assist in Christ's work to bring hope and to save souls, God will use each one of us in unique ways that are fitting to our experiences, abilities, and sympathies...and the rest will come. Some of these doors opening are obviously the means of providing the knowledge and experiences God has promised me. Some of these doors will prepare me to be an even sharper instrument and bless me with those skills, abilities, and spiritual gifts that are needful to perform the work He is inviting me to participate in.
The past few months I have felt stretched nearly beyond my capacity to bear it, yet Christ has strengthened me to be able to courageously stand as one of His ambassadors---to boldly testify of God's perfect plan and His perfect Son. Although there have been challenges, this has been a beautiful leg of my recovery journey already. I am grateful for the blessing of courage and the opportunities to stand boldly and testify of Christ and to defend truth in the ways it relates to marriage, family, and the reality of Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.
I am learning the patterns of making things happen with my faith. I know full-well that my faith does not rest in my abilities or prowess, but in Christ's. My faith is in Him. So why should I not stand up boldly and confidently as His ambassador? Why not stand fearlessly and add my voice to the discussions? It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Him. So why not rest my faith completely and wholly in Him and His ability to command the elements and see to the details of God's children and their lives? Why should I not have fearless faith that He will take my feeble offerings, amplify them, and in His perfect ways allow His words to pierce through the excess and the noise to touch hearts? He knows how those words can reach receptive and willing hearts in ways that allow for those precious words to sink deeply and grow strong roots of conversion. So why not have faith?
I invite you to take some time to ponder on this powerful statement, for we all are ambassadors for Christ. What can YOU do? What does God need you to do? In quiet or obvious ways, with subtlety or with boldness, how can you be His ambassador? Remember He simply needs the willing. He can work with that offering. He doesn't need the talented or the articulate or the able. He will take care of all of that. He just needs the willing. And if you don't yet feel willing, He can help you with that too. :) Take your pondering to God and open your heart to the possibilities. May God bless you as you seek to testify in your own voice and in your own ways of Christ as His ambassador publishing peace.
"...How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth" (3 Nephi 20:40)!
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