How are we to justify a missions trip that leaves us the same when we get home? This week has been an incredible experience that has displayed the power of God at work in Guatemala, but there will be no lasting change among my classmates, our chaperones, or myself if we are not intentionally pursuing a relationship with Christ this week and the weeks to come. In many ways, one week mission trips are characterized as a spiritual high. The focus of a trip like this, and nature of certain experiences draw us closer to God. All the while, we may not have even opened his Word, and listened to what He has to say so that we can truly be changed when we are brought back to our own reality. This gives us a false sense of growth and leaves us wondering, “What happened?” when we are kicked off our mountaintop.
While we sit on a mountaintop this week, both literally and figuratively, the team is working through a devotional that is aimed at drawing each one of us closer to God. Each night, we have taken a few passages and discussed their implications for us this week in Guatemala, and at home in Pennsylvania. It has been a great blessing to see how God is working through my class and teaching them more about Himself. My desire is that all of us would take this attitude of service home with us. Just tonight, we discussed what is means to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). The conversation quickly turned to the intimate nature of the relationship that God desires with us. The passage states that we are called to “walk humbly with our God”, rather then walking “toward” God. Many eastern religions preach a pursuit towards a cold, distant god. The God that we pursue desires an intimate relationship with us, and walks along with us as we humbly pursue him. We have seen our intimate Father work through us, both as we love on the kids here and pursue him through this devotional study. For most of us, this trip has had a tremendous impact and has had an entirely life changing experience. As we leave prepare to leave the question will be, “What are you going to do about it?” How are we going to pray fervently for God’s power to be more evident in His world through the Gospel? How are we going to be more intentional in our engagement with reaching others? What do we need to do to walk more humbly with our God?
LC Senior Go! 