Quick to Listen

James 1:19 says everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak. Throughout my life, I took that to mean that when talking with other people, we should let them do the talking and we should listen to what they have to say. At this very moment God has opened my eyes to see that He is instructing us to be quick to listen to Him; quick to follow Him, quick to do His will.  James 1:22 goes on to say: Don’t merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Let me step back for a moment because when I sat down to write today, I did not know that is what I was going to say. I was thinking about many times when not knowing what to say has held me back from doing God’s will. That I felt I needed all the perfect words laid out in front of me before I could begin to speak and that is when God gave this scripture to me. I didn’t understand how it fit really because I wanted to write about speaking and the verse is more about listening. Then as I began to type, I felt like my eyes were opened: quick to listen.

Yesterday as I was at the Laundromat, a young man walked in with a cast on his foot and I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray for him; for healing for his foot and for forgiveness.  The message played over in my mind as I thought: but I don’t know what to say, how would I start this conversation, what will he think of me saying I am praying for his forgiveness. The moment passed by slowly and quickly all at the same time until he walked out the door.  How do I describe that moment when you feel like: God I’ve asked you to use me and then I didn’t do what you’ve showed me to do. I asked for His forgiveness and within minutes He showed me yet another stranger only instead of asking for praying for healing, He prompted me to witness to her and invite her to church.  My first thought was: really God so fast, no time to breathe after letting the last guy walk out. This was followed by the same thought as before; what do I say? Except this time I couldn’t bear the thought of her walking out and me left asking for God to forgive me again. I searched for something, anything to strike up a conversation, but my tongue was locked in my mouth. This is when I wanted to just think about the part of scripture that says to be slow to speak. I can be slow to speak, that’s easy, but I was being called to speak and so finally looking for anything, I asked her if she needed to use the laundry basket (there is only one and I was using it). I wasn’t sure how that was going to go anywhere but God was able to use that simple question and turn it into an hour long conversation that lasted until after we were both done doing our laundry and just talking about what God was doing in our lives and eventually inviting her to church.  This time instead of her walking away and me asking God to forgive me, I walked away with a joy in my heart knowing that I had allowed God to use me and it felt amazing.

After I left, I reflected back to different times in my life that I either spoke or didn’t speak as the Holy Spirit prompted me to do. When I didn’t speak it was because I felt like I didn’t have the words to say and when I did speak, still I didn’t have the words to say. I realized I had been waiting around for the perfect words planted in my brain ahead of time before opening my mouth and yet the words didn’t come but when I stepped out in faith and began to act, everything that I needed was there.  

When you are “quick to listen”, God gives you everything you need, including the words to speak.

 

The Orphan Next Door

There are orphanages all over the world and so many more that are needed, but don’t forget the orphan next door; the one sitting next to you at school, standing next to you at work, walking past you in the grocery store, or even sitting next to you at church.

Denver and I went to the Believers Convention in Texas for our anniversary this year; what an amazing week it was. God spoke to us in so many ways and brought healing to my body from an injury 16 years ago.

During the preservice prayer one morning, God spoke to me in regards to orphans.  Everyone who attended was divided up into prayer groups that would pray for different needs around the world. Denver and I were directed to group one which was praying for orphans.  For us, it was more confirmation for what God is calling us to do in South Sudan, Africa; however, God revealed to me orphans in a new way.  I had always thought of an orphan as someone who had no parents but rather God showed me that an orphan is someone who does not know a fathers love.  James 1:27 says that religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is to look after orphans (ὀρφανούς). The Greek word ὀρφανούς (orphanous) means bereaved, an orphan, fatherless, desolate.  The same word is used in John 14:18 when Jesus says “I will not leave you as ὀρφανούς (bereaved, an orphan, fatherless, desolate); I will come to you”, yet there are those who are still without love. God has a heart for the fatherless; see Exodus 22:22, Exodus 22:24, Deuteronomy 10:18, Deuteronomy 24:17, Deuteronomy 26:12-13, Psalm 10:18, Psalm 82:3 and many more.  Notice that James 1:27 says “God our Father”.  With God there is no one without a Father or without love. Psalms 68:5 says: A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God does not desire anyone to be without love and especially without knowing of His love.

 

God has a calling for each of us; for Denver and I that calling is to Africa but He is calling you as well.  For some, God is calling you to share His love with someone much closer to you; someone just next door.

 

Our call to South Sudan

Thank you for checking out our new blog. I’m not a writer by nature and therefore never had a desire to have my own blog; however, it has been something that God has been speaking to me about doing. Being the faithful servant that I am, I checked and double checked for the past month to see if this is something He really wanted me to do because I know there must surely be those who are more qualified than I. God reminded me however, that He often calls those who do not consider themselves worthy in order that His name may be glorified. It’s easy to walk in our own path and desires but when He calls us to do something that takes us out of our comfort zone, we must rely completely on Him.

In that same way, God has called Denver and I to go to South Sudan this February. Last summer, God had placed it on my heart to go to the orphanage in Yei, South Sudan, but I tried to explain to Him that there was just no way Denver was ever going to go to Africa. I reminded Him how much Denver dislikes snakes and heat, and that of course Denver would never let me go without him. God continued to speak to my heart about going and so again, I explained that if He wanted Denver go to, He would need to tell him because I wasn’t telling him. Thank you Father for being so patient and understand with me. 

Last December, Denver had a heart attack and although God did not cause him to have a heart attack, He did bring him through it a change man. The doctors put a stent in his heart, but God gave him a new heart that day; a heart for His people. Together we began to study His word more intently and He began to speak to us about loving people. His word directs us over and over again to love our neighbor and yet we so easily dismiss it. One day when we were watching a Christian gospel program, as they sang of Gods majesty, they showed beautiful scenes from Alaska and then they went to the crowd instead. Denver thought, show me some more of the majesty, but God spoke to him and said: I am.

Over the months that followed we felt God was calling us for a greater purpose; to love His majesty.  On May 14^th, I walked to the mailbox to find a single envelope in the box and words can not really describe what I felt and how I knew but I carried that envelope back with a joy of knowing there was something special in there; somehow knowing this was Gods answer. I placed the envelope on Denver’s chair where I always leave the mail, and I waited. Denver explained to me later that he was going to throw the letter away because he thought it was the monthly newsletter that we get from Harvesters Reaching the Nations and he already gets that online so he didn’t think he needed to open it but because I distracted him with some sort of conversation, he opened the envelope before he even realized that he did. Inside were three very special letters from the three children that we sponsor at the orphanage. Denver read them out loud in order to share with me; the first two were wonderful letters from the children but it was the third that melted our hearts. This letter was from Oliver Duku. It started out Dear Denver and Stacey (we were surprised that Oliver had addressed us by name); it continued; I pray for you. Wow, we knew there was genuineness in that statement.  This precious boy in an orphanage from the other side of the world was praying for us.  Oliver went on to tell us a little bit about himself and then stated: I love you.  I don’t think those three words every hit me the same as they did that day. This little boy, who knew me by name, loves me and prays for me. Then there were the words that completely and total transformed our world: I hope you will come visit me, and in that moment Denver and I both said “We Will”. James tells us in chapter 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” Oliver had so much love and faith that we could not imagine anything but going to him and saying, here we are and we love you too. It is amazing how God worked through a child to ask Denver to do what I was unwilling to ask him.   We quickly began making arrangements to visit  in February and March 2013.

 

Since that day in May that will forever remain significant in my mind, Denver and I have been asked by God and Harvesters to consider a mission for long term involvement there.

We are honored to have you follow our journey, Oliver’s journey, and the journey of Harvesters Reaching the Nations (www.hrtn.org)