On hearing my friend's account of the lessons she learnt while climbing a mountain on a recent mission’s trip in Russia, I was very inspired and asked her to share those very important lessons with us this week. I hope you too are inspired by all God showed her.
----------------------
It was already my third time going on a prayer trip to North Caucasus. Every time has been special, and God was teaching me to trust Him more and to rely on Him, not on people. We cannot serve God without obeying Him in His command for us to go and to be a blessing to others, not only people around us but also those who are different from us with their own perspective, culture, religion and understanding of the world.
Jesus died for our sins on the cross and resurrected on the third day, so that we can live eternally. As He is alive and is with His Father in heaven still doing His ministry, then we also should be alive in Christ, and we should live for Him. We cannot pay Him anything for what He has done for us more than to love Him, to follow Him, and to put all our trust in Him as He deserves all our praise.
As I said before, this third trip for me was different, because our God is so creative in His ways. This time we had twelve people on our team. Four from my group, four others who I already knew, and four people from Ukraine who we met in person for the first time. This team was really a big blessing for me. A pastor who is a professional alpinist (mountain climber) was with us. And one day on our trip he invited our team to try to climb a mountain that is formed like a ladder, which is called "Greek ladder" because a scroll of the New Testament written in Greek was found there. The pastor prepared the equipment for only four people to go first. I was not in that first group. To be honest I was little bit disappointed that maybe I would not get to try this climb because the rain seemed like it would come at that time. While I was waiting with my other three friends, we were still trying to trust God in this situation as our desire was to go climb the mountain. When we saw that the rain was getting stronger and the other team was going down quickly, we almost lost hope of going on the climb. But we decided to thank God for everything. In a few moments we saw a cloud in the shape of a heart in the sky and we became as joyful as kids, and we were thanking our God even more since He was giving us this sign to show His love and care for us. After this cloud appeared, the wind and rain stopped, and the sun came out and was shining so brightly. Then after, the pastor called us next to climb the mountain.
In this I learnt a lesson that even if things do not go as we want them to, we still should trust God and be thankful for what He has given us, because His plan is much bigger and greater then we could ever imagine. He is good all the time.
The second lesson that I learnt on top of the rock happened when the pastor connected us to the rope and instructed us to go with our backs turned away from the rock, having only one rope as safety equipment. I was not the first one who did it. And when I was looking at the person who was trying to understand how to go down, I saw fear in his eyes and he was not understanding what to do and how do it. As I looked at him fear was overwhelming my heart and thoughts. I started thinking that I would give up and not do it. But after I saw that the two people who went first were safe. Praise the Lord! I decided to go. When the pastor connected me to the rope, he started to explain to me in detail what I should do. At that moment I started to listen to him more carefully and intentionally. I was trying not to miss any of his words to stay safe. I found that my fear was gone, and I felt so much peace and confidence in my heart as I went down. I was not thinking about the dangers down at the bottom of the mountain, but rather I was so focused on the promises and the words the pastor was giving me. I listened to his instructions on how to do everything right and safely.
When I finished my climb down the mountain, one brother came to help me with the rope and took it off. After, I meditated on what happened to me and what God wanted to show me through this experience. God reminded me that when we are attached to Him as the rope held me, He gives me a guarantee of safety. When we listen the voice of our good Pastor (Shepherd) and keep our focus on His words and commands we will stay safe always. We do not have to be afraid of what Is waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain. We just need to trust that He is holding us in His hands, and He will not let us go to be crushed, but He will give us peace and hope for our future when we stay attached to Him.
The other thing that God reminded me of was a phrase by the great missionary, William Carrey, "I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the rope". He said this to his faithful friend, Andrew Fuller, on the way on to his mission. And Fuller did a great job in holding the rope through his prayers, mobilizing the church to pray for missionaries and by raising support for his friend, William.
I am so thankful to God for these lessons that He taught me and I am also thankful to those who were holding the rope for me when I and my team were "going down" to do His will of bringing hope in Jesus to those who don't have hope right now. We are all so important in God's eyes and without everyone it will not be possible to see what God has done for us, through us and for others. We are all a part of the Great Commission of Jesus. It is a great privilege for us to be His servants and to be loved by Him.
"My sheep hear My voice and I know them. They follow Me. I give them life that lasts forever. They will never be punished. No one is able to take them out of My hand. My Father Who gave them to Me is greater than all. No one is able to take them out of My Father's hand." John 10:27-29
"Live your lives as the Good News of Christ says you should. If I come to you or not, I want to hear that you are standing true as one. I want to hear that you are working together as one, preaching the Good News." Philippians 1:27
Comments