Anticipation and uncertainty

1 week, 5 days and 14 hours...then I board a plane and begin the journey God began to set in motion six months ago.

Several people have asked me over the last week if I'm nervous and each time they ask, I'm not sure how to respond. Am I nervous about spending 20 hours on a plane...a little but that's the easy part right? I also have to spend 13 hours at an airport in a country that I've never been to before...that makes me nervous. Then once I arrive I have 6 weeks in a country that has different beliefs, a different language, and an all over different way of life. What will happen when I arrive? Will I like the people I'm staying with? Will they like me? How will my days go? Will I be able to do everything they want me to do? Is it safe for me to be leaving the country right now? ...I could keep coming up with questions about the unknown, but instead I began to read.

I began reading 2 Chronicles chapter 20. The Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites were on their way to battle Jehoshaphat and his people. When fear began to overtake Jehoshaphat, he called out to God and God reminded him who the battle belonged to. God set ambushes and the Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites mistakenly attacked each other. They all ended up dead; Jehoshaphat and his people never had to lift a finger.

Jehoshaphat feared the unknown. He was about to be at war with 3 armies and he didn't know what was going to happen; it seemed like a hopeless situation to him. He gathered all the people of Judah and Jerusalem and they prayed...then God answered them. "Do not be afraid" is the answer they received. "The battle is not yours, but God's." How true is this to all of us everyday? Each day as a Christian I encounter battles with others as well as myself and each day I need to remind myself who the battles belong to: Jesus.

When I think about all the things I don't know I remember why I am doing this to start with: God has called me to be a voice for him. Although my battle is quite different from Jehoshaphat's, my response needs to be the same. I need to go to God and remember that this is his battle. I am simply his servant following orders. He will lead each of my steps and what ever happens while I am gone is his will. My job is to listen. So, I will not be afraid; instead, I will continue to pray and seek him while he unfolds his plan.