“but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”
-Isaiah 40:31
Ok, confession time. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that some verses are too “cliché” to be applicable to my life. Isaiah 40:31 has pretty much always fallen into that category of cliché scripture in my mind, most likely because I spent 2 years at a Christian school that used this verse as a reason to be the BCHS Eagles. Lame. Not the whole school, just the fact that 80% of Christian schools use this verse as a motto and an eagle as a mascot. Ok, I made up that stat. Anyway, my friend Xavier (Salvadorian) just graduated from Josué Christian School here in San Salvador. Guess what their mascot was? The Eagles. Proof that the eagle is an over-used mascot in Christian schools AROUND THE GLOBE. What exactly is so holy about eagles anyway? Nothing as far as I can tell. End of rant.
The Lord definitely has been teaching me a thing or two about how important and “un-cliché” the whole Word of God is. He keeps bringing this verse to my mind each day here in El Salv. I’ve been here for over 2 weeks now, and fatigue hasn’t got the best of me yet. I definitely don’t have the strength to go on my own power. I believe the reason for this is that I want to renew my strength each day by putting my hope in the Lord. So, what does it mean to hope in the Lord? I’ve been really digesting this as I have been working on a devotional called Thirsty while here on project (it’s a new release, and may not be added to the posted link for a bit). I need to be emptied of myself, confessing my dirt, grime and sin before a holy and righteous God, and then ask and believe that I am empowered, filled up and controlled by his Holy Spirit. Its a miracle.
And that is what my hope in Him looks like. I hope (I have an ultimate expectation) that He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me of unrighteousness. See 1 John 1:9. I hope in the salvation of my soul, that he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. See Philippians 1:6. I hope that my Lord is made known in my weakness, that he is so great that he can use my sin to draw others into a knowledge of who he is. This is where I draw strength. A crazy amazing breakfast, a great team, relationships with students and a Hilton Princess bed will only leave me weary in comparison with the renewed strength I get from putting my hope in him, the Everlasting One.
Pray for Olga, Delmy and Johanna…the girls who accepted Christ with me last week. Pray that they would feel urged to come to our follow-up meeting this next week, that they would desire to know more about this salvation that they have been adopted into. Pray for our ministry, which will be completely on Universidad Evangélica for the next two weeks. Pray for momentum, for ministry contacts and for a MOVEMENT. We want to see a growing, thriving movement here in El Salvador. A movement that provides fellowship, accountability and friendship while reaching out to all of the lost souls in the community. Pray that our team would not grow weary while doing good, but that we would see the fields that are white with harvest. We want to go out in the name of Christ, in whom we are more than conquerers.
I appreciate all of your prayer support! It’s helping me to renew my strength!
Photo Update:
Day off….at Sunzal Beach with Alyssa!
Ordering Chinese food in Spanish poses a challenge….
Your eyes do not deceive you. Genuine “Sara” soup found at your local Hiper Paiz (Salvadorian Wal Mart).
At the Dinner Party hosted by Lio and Luchi (National Crusade Directors). We met up, ate and danced alongside the Destino Summer Project team. A great night!
Alyssa and I at the Vida Estudaintil Party yesterday. We had students in attendance from 4 different universities in San Salvador!
