Me:  Prodigal, are you awake?

 

Prodigal:  Sorry, I just finished a nap.  I was having a dream of running through the corn fields.

 

Me:  Well, I have a story of a dream that someone had when they were sleeping.  The story comes from the book Voices of the Faithful with Beth Moore and the story is from a missionary named Julie in Eastern Europe

 

We have so many plans for ministering among our people group.  Often, however, plans fail, never happen or are altered in ways that make our original thoughts completely unrecognizable.

We spent a lot of time, money, energy and prayers in one village.  It began to look like a black hole with no results.  Then one Sunday, a man from the village told the church he had had a dream in which a man told him to read the Bible!  He read through the Gospels in a couple of weeks, seeking the truth.

God has been teaching me that we can plan and strategize, but He causes His name to be honored.  How great is that!  We aren’t responsible for people coming to Christ.  When we see God causing His name to be honored, as with this man being drawn to Him solely through the Holy Spirit, we feel His presence and are blessed to witness His glory.

I found a verse that addresses how to build an altar and worship the Lord.  God emphasizes that there are to be no “dressed stones” or steps leading up to the altar (Ex 20:25).  God wants the complete focus of our worship, not the work of our hands.  God causes His name to be honored, not us, and if we try to take the credit for His work, our weakness and faults will be exposed.

When we see God moving, we are brought to our knees in worship.  We are encouraged that our witnessing is not in vain.

 

God thank you for YOUR plans and not my own!  Thank you for letting me witness YOUR plans!

Exodus 20:24

Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

 

Jennifer Van Allen,

 

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org