“But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? O be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away.” - John Wesley, 1791
There is a vision of heaven that rests in the idea of perfection. When heaven comes, those who love Him will become the truest versions of themselves, meaning, what He had planned. There is a vision of no pain, no tears, no injustice, no loss, no loneliness, no abuse, nothing that goes against the nature of who God is.
Perfection cannot be attained on earth, but does that mean we should not strive to bringing the good things He is to earth now? What if we can pursue freedom for those caught in slavery? Why shouldn't we strive to end these girls' sufferings, their abuse, their defilement? And, in doing so, give them a safe place to recover, to heal, to laugh again, to feel safe, to discover what else they can do in this life?
If God is with us who can be against us?
We were talking in small group the other night about how we defeat ourselves. I was thinking that satan doesn't have to try and trip up the American church because we are so turned around and timid that we do it ourselves. We don't speak up, we don't act, we don't strive to bring heaven to earth. Instead we rest on heaven as our final destination and become judgmental and isolated until we get there.
But this is not how it is to be.
I leave for Cambodia tomorrow. The shuttle is coming at an hour I didn't know existed before, and the 20+ hours of travel commence. Tomorrow I will know my team face to face. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, ("...and I hate to wake you up to say goodbye!") and while I know it will be hard, and I know my heart will break and my soul will be tested, and the evil of what man is capable of doing will be blatant... I know God is with us, and if we strive to do as He would will, then there will be rest in the storm.
It will be hard, but we go with Him on our side. We can be passive observes of evil no more. We go into the mire, the muck, the pain, the evil, the cast-aside and neglected, to, I think, find God.
I will try to blog when I can.
One final prayer request: I am teaching everyday as we strive to engage with what we see. I have worked for over a month on what to say, and, sometimes, when I am nervous or really excited I can come off as condescending, or mean, or annoyed - and people don't hear what I'm trying to say because of the tone in which I say it. Trafficking and prostitution annoy me because they should not happened. Rape for profit should not have to be negotiated and discussed, it just should not exist... but it does. So please pray that I can get beyond my frustration (and pain and overwhelming-ness) and that God would speak. Pray that I will be humble enough to know I know nothing and He knows everything. Please pray that my heart will come across.
Thank you for the support! We could not do this without you.
"...cause I'm leavin on a jet plane..."
