Month 1

As of today, I have been living in Senegal for a month. It feels like I’ve been here for only a few days, and yet it feels as though I’ve been here for years. Throughout this past month I’ve gotten to share the Gospel many times, my heart has broken for the lost, I’ve learned some lessons about us as humans, and I’ve learned some lessons of my own. As I’ve reflected on my time here so far, it was hard to come up with words for what I wanted to say. This morning at church, we looked at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and I realized that these verses sum it all up. And I believe that what I’ve learned applies to all, so I thought I would share. Let’s take this piece-by-piece:

Verse 16: “Rejoice always”.

This one hits hard. Jesus doesn’t say rejoice when you feel like it, or when things go our way, but ALWAYS. But what does rejoicing even look like? The dictionary says rejoicing is “to feel or show great joy or delight”. How is that possible? What about when we have those crummy days or when we’re sick or when people are driving us up the wall? Rejoice. To be honest with you, this is something I’ve struggled with. Never have I noticed how easy it can be to complain or see the negative. I miss home, I miss my people, and culture here is absurd to me. But still, I am commanded to rejoice. One day last week, I was having a particularly hard time with this. Instead of seeing the positive in things and the joy, I chose to see the negatives and complain. Of course, poor Zach gets the brunt of those complaints. But instead of letting me throw a pity party, he called me on it and basically said “what you’re doing is not healthy. You’re choosing to see the negative when you’ve been blessed with the opportunity to live in Africa and tell people about Jesus. Joy is a choice, Sarah, and so is complaining. You can choose to be discontent, or you can choose to rejoice. What will it be?” (Those words are my brief summation of an entire conversation and thank God for a guy who will call me out when I’m being a brat). But seriously, Zach’s words really hit home for me. JOY IS A CHOICE, Y’ALL. We have to choose to rejoice.  Complaining may be easier, but it’s not fruitful. Join me in rejoicing, even when things are hard.

Verse 17: “Pray continually”.

I wonder, is it possible for our mere human minds to fully grasp the power of prayer? I don’t think it is.  I feel as though I’ve just now started to understand. Pray continually. What does that mean? Does that mean we walk around babbling like a lunatic? Does that mean we should sit in our prayer closets for hours a day? I don’t believe it does. I think we have some misconceptions about prayer. Praying doesn’t mean you have to bow your head and close your eyes and use big, flowery words. Praying doesn’t mean you have to seclude yourself from the rest of the world. If that’s what you do, more power to ya! Y’all, praying is a conversation with God. I believe that being prayerful simply means being in constant communication with the Father and guess what…Psalm 139:2 says that God knows our thoughts even when we are far away. So based on that, I think we can conclude that being prayerful can be a thought process and that God really does most of the work. It can be dwelling on God each and every moment and being in conversation with Him and thinking of Him in all that we do. Being prayerful means recognizing that we are nothing with out Christ and that He is our strength.

Verse 18: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ”.

 There’s one little word in here that makes a world of difference. ALL. All circumstances. Paul doesn’t say give thanks when you’re feeling it, or when you’ve had a great day, or when God seriously blesses you. Paul says give thanks in all circumstances. When you’re sick in Africa, or you have a total crap day, or you’re tired and don’t feel like it. Give thanks even then. Is that possible? Nobody can be thankful all the time, right? Wrong. Just like joy, thankfulness is a choice. And here’s the beauty of it all, we belong to a Creator who has given us more than an abundant amount of reasons to be grateful. We can just choose one. Having a rough day? Check out the sunset and thank God for that. Being thankful doesn’t mean we have to be joyful, it simply means that we give God the glory and honor He deserves. Nobody likes the child whose parents didn’t teach them to say thank you…let’s not be that kid. Let’s thank God for the millions of ways that He’s blessed us, rather than focus on the hardships we face. Whether we believe it or not, the good always outweighs the bad. Here's a song that goes with this idea:

Now I have a favor to ask. A to do list for you, even. I know, I know…I’m soooo needy. Here’s what I want you to do:

1     1. Choose joy. I promise, you will be so much more content.

2     2. Talk to your Father. He loves to communicate with us. And pray intentionally. Pray for people by name. Don’t be vague, dad’s love to know the details of their kids lives.

3     3. Say thank you. Make a list of 5 things each day that you’re grateful for…even if it’s PB&J sandwiches. Recognize the blessings that are placed in front of you.

4     4. Please. Please. Please. Let me know how I can be praying for you. Email me, text me, Facebook message me, carrier pigeon me (not really…the pigeon would probably drop dead somewhere over the Atlantic from exhaustion). But seriously, I want to pray for you.