Great and unsearchable things...

Do you ever get the feeling like you can't fight anymore? Sometimes things goes well and then there are other times when things just feels like it's falling apart. I know that I know that I know everyone goes through this phase in life. If you tell me that you have never experienced this in your life, I will assume you are living in a fantasy world because you're not living it real. Everyday of my life is REAL. I want people to know that it is not always fine and dandy. It's not always like the movies. The past couple of weeks has been a challenge to me. It wasn't because it was hard, but because I catch myself feeling unmotivated and complaining too much. It's almost as if I felt like I've lost hope. A friend of mine e-mailed me at the right moment and gave me a word of encouragement. I have known this friend for about two years of my life and I am so grateful to have a friend like him. I would like to talk about him and tell you why he is an inspiration in my life and how he has encouraged me. My friend name is Anderson and he is from Brasil. I got to know him through the discipleship program called Master's Commission. I was involved in this program for two years and had the opportunity to travel to Brasil twice on a missions trip. It was an amazing experience! Anderson is an inspiration in my life because I see the loving power of God at work in his life. You see, Anderson was a street kid living in Brasil. He didn't have any hope in life. He was involved in drugs, alcohol, stealing, and who knows what else. It's not about what he did, but all about how much God loves him. God was reaching out to Anderson through missionaries in Brasil. God gave Anderson opportunities...many opportunities and he was defiant at times! Anderson had an opportunity to live off of the streets, yet he went back a couple of times. All though this, God still reached out to him. Finally one day it hit Anderson and he decided to take up his cross and follow Jesus. I'm sure he knew it was going to be hard, but he did it anyways. Today Anderson is serving God with all his heart and he is back in Brasil and with Youth With A Mission. I know that God is going to use Anderson in extraordinary ways! He has an amazing testimony I wish you all could hear it...it is amazing!

I remember the first time I met Anderson. He did not speak any English at all! He seemed like a shy kid, yet with a lot of patience. He didn't talk much to anyone...neither did anyone else talk much with him (and I know how this feels...barrier of communication). Anderson walked around with a Portuguese-English dictionary, studying every word he could learn. After a year, I couldn't believe how much he has learned and grown. He was persistent! My second year is when I really got to know him and found him to be a loving and compassionate person. He is an amazing guy with a lot of patience.

Last week Anderson sent me an e-mail about how he almost gave up and allowed the enemy to tell him to quit his life and all his dreams. After a lot of prayer and meditation, he asked himself this question, "How can I kill the promise and the calling of God in my life?" The answer he got was his own pride. This is what he said, "If you don't watch out for your pride, that pride will kill you and just gonna take you away from the Lord." He knew that his pride was just eating him away and he knew that he had to fight against that through prayer. That is what he just did. He prayed for strength in fighting against tribulations and barriers in his life. Anderson's encouragement to me was to not allow my pride to be bigger than God because if I allow that then it will destroy my intimate relationship with Christ and the plans that God has for my life.

Thanks Anderson for sharing this with me. I know that God knows what he is doing because God came in at the right time through Anderson to share this with me. All of us have pride issues that can destroy us. God is bigger than that. God has a great plan for our lives. I see the amazing plan that God has for Anderson's life and I know that God is REAL.

God says that he will do amazing things! Jeremiah 33:2-3 says, "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" And through that, God promises that he will take care of us and have an amazing plan for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God Bless you guys and I pray that you allow God to be bigger than your life troubles!