Where He leads...: A blessing for my soul

A blessing for my soul

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On Sunday nights I have the privilege of worshiping the Lord with a group of believers who have brought such refreshment to my soul. They are a mission team from the organization Acts of Mercy International, a ministry of Antioch Community Church. (www.haititransformed.org)

A neat connection is that a sweet family I knew from Namibia are also missionaries with Antioch. We went to church together in Windhoek and I remember a delicious Thanksgiving feast at their house in 2010. I got to meet up with them again during my visit last Fall. Small world!

I look forward to my time each week worshiping with this special group of people. Right now it mostly consists of two single ladies and two families. My neighbor Michael also joins us. There are 6 kids between the two families. Sometimes by the time Sunday night rolls around, I'm just plain exhausted from a busy week and equally busy weekend. But I know that my time spent in the Word and through worship and prayer with this fellowship of believers is what I need and the perfect way to end one week and begin another.

It's always interesting to occasionally be around American kids when you're living in a country like Haiti. These kids are especially cute and hilarious. I'm also inspired by their hearts of worship. They sing and dance for the Lord and don't care who's watching.

Last night we focused on worship and prayer. Before the kids went to children's church we spent a few minutes praying over each of them and then some of the older ones prayed individually for some of us. Veronica, who will be 6 next month, came over to me and said she wanted to pray with me. I didn't even know she remembered my name since I haven't spent much time with the kids. But she said, "I want to pray with you, Hannah". And then she proceeded to say the sweetest and most precious prayer for me. "Father, I pray that you will give Hannah a spirit of grace. Fill her with joy."

Wow and AMEN! That girl is connected to the Holy Spirit and she couldn't have prayed a more appropriate prayer for me. My name means "grace" and when I think of my precious Lord and Savior I think of how gracious He is. My dear Granddaddy always talks about the grace of God and what that means to Him and how that truth changed his life forever. If it weren't for the grace of God, well... we could all write a book about what that would mean for our lives. God made us in His image so when I think about His image I think of looking into a mirror and asking myself if I am living up to that. Am I being gracious? When I'm living in Haiti and I'm hot and frustrated and overwhelmed, am I able to extend grace to my neighbor? To a stranger? Some days I do better than others. There's room for improvement.

As for joy... that has been a constant prayer of mine throughout the years. I consider myself a happy person, but that deep, unspeakable, indescribable joy is something that cannot be faked. I want God to continually fill me with that abundant, overflowing joy that can't be shaken by the worries and troubles of this world. Nehemiah 8:10 says, "... the joy of the Lord is my strength." Goodness knows I need strength daily for the tasks before me. Nehemiah reminds me where I can find it. And sweet little Veronica prayed for that crucial ingredient. Joy. Of the Lord. In the Lord. For the Lord.

I'm so thankful for all the blessings, big and small, that God brings into my life. I'm thankful for the prayer of a 5 year old child and the way the Holy Spirit immediately filled my soul with peace and refreshment as she prayed over me.

That night Jessica played a song for us to open up our time of worship. This song is the echo of my heart right now. I hope it will bless you as much as it blessed me. And I hope that as you listen to it, you will use it not only as a prayer but as a time of reflection to ask whether or not you truly are looking to God for what you need right now in your life. Are you overwhelmed? Do you need help? Vision? Wisdom? Is the Lord your strength, your shield, your rock? If He's not, He wants to be. He can be. And He is. But we have to put Him in that place in our lives. He will not force His way in but He is waiting to be our everything. He is waiting to reign in our lives. Let Him. You won't regret it. That is one promise I can make.

God I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from

Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength
I will love You Lord my shield
I will love You Lord my rock forever
All my days I will love You God

Hallelujah our God reigns