Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Unheeded Secret

My place of solitude each morning.
I had forgotten my small devotional, "My Utmost For His Highest," in my house in Florida. When I was home I grabbed it. I had forgotten how much wisdom was packed into each small reading. The last week as been focused on the journey of a missionary and so many things that he has written about has really encouraged me. Today's entry however, put into exact words what I have been struggling with over the last month in Haiti. It reads.

"It's entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in over activity  instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God's redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens." 
You can read the rest here... 


Before I left for Haiti, I had this pretty picture in my mind, that when I would come, I would have all the time in the world to sit and pray and soak up in God's word. While I don't have the same distractions here as I did in the United States, there are still distractions. I soon began doing, doing, doing and was trying to keep it all together, on my own strength. Then....I snapped....the stress was too much and I couldn't do it all. (I'm sure God was thinking, "Ashlee, when are you going to learn this lesson that I keep trying to teach you.") Last week I was able to have a great day alone in His word. It helped me regain my focus and to get rooted in Him. Sometimes, I become so focused on the tasks ahead, that I forget about the reason I am even here....I am here to share God's glory and his redemption.


2 comments:

  1. Ashlee you encourage me! I know we are not the closest friends but I am so very thankful for you and your heart.. your walk with God and how He is using you challenges me in my faith.. You are not just being a HUGE blessing to Haiti but you are also being a HUGE encourager to me :) Thank you for that.

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  2. I needed to hear this today, too.... thanks!!

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