Walking on Water

Well its nearing the end of another week here at YWAM Perth I cannot believe it! We are now past the half way mark in lecture phase... where on earth has the time gone!?

This last week has been a very challenging week for me. The Lord has really been challenging me in the area of trust. He has definitely been highlighting things in my life where I don't trust Him. Trust is a difficult thing... I mean putting trust in a God you cannot see can be really hard at times especially with the big things. I feel as if I need to be in control of the big things... but that's really silly because when I'm in control I worry and fret about things all the time. I worry about how everything is going to fit together and about making mistakes. Jesus commands us in His word not to worry or be anxious about anything! I have always worried about things and been anxious about lots of different situations in my life... that indicated to me really how I wasn't trusting God with those things because if I did trust Him there would be no need to worry. But my God is so much bigger than my fears!!! He is a limitless God, however, quite often I put him in a box and limit Him in what I think is possible for Him. The Lord has just been revealing to me just how trustworthy He really is. God is the creator of the universe, He knows whats coming... and we do not... so why would we not want to trust Him with our lives? This week He has really been challenging me to step out on the WATER and trust him... (Like Peter) To not look at the storm raging around me... to get caught up on the millions of things I could be worrying about but to fix my gaze on Him and to not limiting Him in my mind of what I think is possible for Him. When I step out in faith I need to be trusting that the Lord will catch me when I fall and will walk with me every step of the way. Sometimes I feel as if He is not there and I'm sure you could identify with this feeling at times, but as my leader reminded me the Lord promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He never lies, His word is flawless and His ways are perfect! He is always with us, He promised us that He would be so He will be. Faith is not a feeling! It's believing in something we cannot see.. and sometimes we cannot feel God, and that certainly doesn't mean Hes not there because He is there!

My mothers dear friend gave me a verse this week which spoke right to my heart and that was Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear; I will help you." Ahh I love this verse! The creator of the universe is holding my hand through it all, He asks me not to fear because He will help me!  How great is that?

I unfortunately don't have any pictures of this week. Hopefully I will be able to get some for next weeks blog post! Last weekend was the nicest weather, we went to the beach on the Saturday, and the temperature was about 27 degrees which was perfect! This is winter time in Perth and It honestly felt like a New Zealands summer day! They had really nice food places by the beach that we went to that weren't expensive which was really nice. We stayed the whole afternoon then watched the sunset! Ahh It was so pretty! I wonder sometimes how can we possibly see so much beauty in the world and not believe it was crafted so beautifully by a divine creator? It cannot honestly have formed over millions of years, it is truly so stunning and complex that it's just not possible.

My little sisters called me on the phone the other day which totally made my week! Charlotte was telling me that she prayed for me every night before she went to bed that God would protect me and Katie was telling me how she puts her trust in God and its really good to do that. I very much enjoyed my awesome conversations with them. Ahh I love little children so much! We can learn so much from them! Oh to have faith like a child! They worry about nothing, knowing that Jesus, mummy and daddy have everything under control. Complete trust!

Lecture Content:
This week our topic was on fear of the Lord. I always kinda wondered what that really meant... should we be afraid of the Lord? No, thats not what it meant. It simply means to seek God's approval above all else and to care about His opinion more than anyone elses. If we fear the Lord in everything we do we will hate what He hates and love what He loves. We will also really desire to be Christlike and follow by His example! In saying that we cannot beat ourselves up when we do make mistakes and do something Jesus would not do, because we are indeed human beings! Jesus knows we can't be perfect! And that's when His amazing grace comes in! He just loves that we try to do whats right! He delights in our efforts to be like Him and to follow Him with the best of our abilities!

Prayer Requests:
I would love it if you could pray for me that I would just keep learning and growing lots in my faith, and with applying all these teachings to my life. Also outreach is coming up soon and the Lord has asked me to step out in faith with my finances and trust Him. I am trusting Him for $2100 NZ dollars and I was wondering if you could partner in prayer with me to see that come in. 

If any of you would be willing to financially support me in my medical mission trip, that would be really cool too, I appreciate any support. Whether it be prayer or financial support or both, it all means so much! Thank you to all who have been praying for me already, It makes such a difference! Theres immeasurable power in prayer! I love that we serve a limitless God who hears and responds to all of our prayers! It's truly so very amazing!

Thank you very much for reading my blog! Bless you all!