In about three days, we will be landing in Denver, Colorado. Actually saying that feels surreal. And thinking about the days, weeks, and months leading up to our arrival in Denver feels even more surreal.
When I first felt the calling to be a missionary, I made a checklist in my mind of the things that would probably be required of me, but as I try to remember the list, I'm positive that I had never considered "following God out of the city you're called to because of political unrest" as a possible requirement.
And yet, here I am - writing from a Starbucks in Europe, counting down the days before my arrival in the USA.
I feel like now, I truly understand the conflict that Paul wrote about throughout the epistles.
As I've mentioned before, Byron and I are doing a "read through the Bible in a year" plan right now. We got a little behind in our reading, and so during the last week, we were reading through Joshua. When we initially got behind in our reading, we were really bummed out about it. But now, I can see The Lord's hand in that. He knew exactly what we would be needing to read this last week... And it was a small deviation from the reading plan.
If you've been with us on this journey from the beginning, you know that the book of Joshua was instrumental during the time when Byron and I initially stepped out in faith and moved to Ukraine.
The Lord gave us many promises from Joshua, such as:
Joshua 1:3 - "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you..."
Joshua 1:5 - "...I will not leave you nor forsake you."
Joshua 3:4-5 - "...that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before...Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow The Lord will do wonders among you."
These verses have been written on our hearts for the past two years. And It was really interesting to me that as we were reading through Joshua last week, The Lord used different sections of Joshua to minister to us... Verses such as:
Joshua 8:1 - "Now The Lord said to Joshua: 'Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take the people of war with you, and arise...'"
Joshua 10:25 - "Do not be afraid, nor dismayed; be strong and of good courage."
Joshua 13:33 - "But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; for The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as He had said to them."
Joshua 21:45 - "Not a word failed of any good thing which The Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass."
Joshua 22:4-5 - "And now The Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of The Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of The Lord commanded you, to love The Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
This is just a small list of the verses that spoke to us... But the Holy Spirit used them in a big way.
Although I haven't felt particularly afraid of anything lately, I have been dismayed. Everyday, I struggle with feelings of failure, worthlessness, and aimlessness. But in His perfect timing, The Lord showed me, and continues to remind me, of these verses... Don't be dismayed!
I have also really been upset about having to leave my guitar behind in Donetsk. Even though we plan to return to Donetsk, if that's The Lord's will, the fact that I don't have my guitar with me right now has been hard for me. But The Lord used the tribe of Levi to encourage me about my guitar... I don't need a guitar to worship The Lord. And, The Lord is my inheritance! What more could I need! And again, Not one word of any good thing that The Lord has said has/will fail!
I even found myself personalizing Joshua 22:4-5:
"And The Lord has given you rest, as He promised you. Now, therefore, return to your home, and to the land of your youth, that The Lord gave you on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. But take careful heed to continue to love The Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
If I learn nothing else from my time of being a missionary, I am so incredibly blessed to have learned that The Lord our God is the one, true, living God. And His unchanging Word, the Bible, is His active Word. So awesome!
So, in three days, I will be in Colorado again. I really do believe that The Lord will bring us back to Donetsk in His time, but I also believe that The Lord's ways are far better than mine, and I trust His as we walk through this wilderness, wherever that takes us.
Blessings,
Emily
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