The Highs and Lows of Following Jesus
Joe DeLozier / Missions and Mobilization Pastor
The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. All Your works praise You, Lord; Your faithful people extol You.
They tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all people may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does. Psalm 145:9-13
This past year has been a cycle of ups and downs. Roughly a year ago, I was praying for God to provide me direction for a future mission trip. After a few weeks, I reached out to one of our missionaries, Cedric Rodrigo who oversees the church in Sri Lanka, and asked if there would be an opportunity to come alongside him to serve over there. His immediate response was, “YES!” After three meetings, we didn’t seem to be landing on an itinerary that would have an impact on the community. It felt like we were forcing something to happen. I was beginning to wonder if God truly wanted us to go and serve with Cedric. However, in our fourth meeting, we had an itinerary fully set up within 10 MINUTES! It included three days of revival meetings, youth ministry, leadership equipping, marriage and ministry seminar, and an opportunity to speak at two of his churches.
As we progressed towards the day of the trip, we had issues booking the flights and obtaining our visas. As we got within four to five weeks of departure day, we finally got our flights booked. It was another couple of weeks before we all received our visas. All roadblocks were removed and we were looking forward to boarding our first flight Thursday morning. Additionally, the Sunday before our departure, we were prayed over by our church family. We were all excited and ready to go. On Monday of that week, our plans came to a screeching halt. Flights were canceled due to the conflict in the Middle East and we were heartbroken, shedding tears.
Throughout the highs and lows, God continued to provide peace about the situation. Whether it was booking the flights, getting visas approved, or having to cancel the trip. He continually provided a quiet peace that I believe was a direct result of all the prayer warriors who were lifting us up. God regularly reminded me that He is in control, and there are no surprises for Him. In the end, even though we did not go to Sri Lanka, God did some amazing things (surprise, surprise). People came forward during the three-day revival and sought sanctification, one family felt called to go back to their village and plant a church. This was after being away from their native village for 18 years! We may never know why He allowed us to go so far, before closing the door. However, I am grateful that He reigns over everything, including the highs and lows of life.