Faith Will Move Mountains: Encouragement for the Discouraged
This encouragement comes from Amanda Lawrence, Director of Missions. Amanda worked for AW years ago and recently returned to start ACT Missions Trips. We are seeing incredible results from her vision for visiting the fatherless. Learn more about our mission trips here! We hope you are encouraged by these words.
Families, as I was working to recruit team members for our China trip this May I had a conversation with one of my coworkers. She was doubting that maybe it wasn’t God’s will for us to send that team. You know, it's so easy to pray “if it's your will Lord” and there's DEFINITELY a time to pray this! But, I have found when it comes to orphans and sending people to them, that it is always HIS will (James 1:27)! He may redirect our steps to protect us or reschedule things, or divert our plans, but it IS His will. We can pray in that way.
I learned this lesson when I was in Public Relations for America World and I was praying for a family to have their daughter home from China before Christmas. I had just had dinner with them and began praying in the car on the way home. I was praying, “If it's your perfect timing and your will, please bring her home by then”…I was overcome with emotion and I KNEW that God was saying “It's never my will for any child to be an orphan. It's never my will for any child to be in an orphanage. So it's NEVER my will for them to remain there even one more day. It's never my will that they are away from their destined mom and dad even one more day.” I began praying and getting angry saying, “Lord, bring her home now” over and over. ” I know it's your will God that she comes home TOMORROW so please bring her home ASAP.” And you know what? She came home before Christmas!! Just as this family desired.
Faith will move mountains friends… I know that many of you are in that waiting stage and I know it can seem like it’s forever. I know sometimes it seems like the heavens are brass and that they are shut up against us. However, we can KNOW that it’s not God’s heart that these children remain in the conditions that they are in. No, it isn’t a guarantee if you pray in this way that your child will get home in the next couple of months or the like. But you NEVER know…maybe without praying your child would be stuck even longer. Maybe your prayers of faith did speed up the process. Just believe and KNOW. We are standing with you in prayer and believing. Let’s storm the gates of heaven together!
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18