It was the perfect day on the southern coast of Brazil. Five beautiful, young women from different parts of the world were having conversations filled with real heart stuff that was edifying and holy. A couple of us who had battled with anxiety were encouraging a friend in the group who was facing it head-on.
But let’s start at the very beginning. Rewind 2 weeks to when I was on an outreach in Brazil with Mike Davies, Melanie Du Toit and Julie de Lisle for the School of Prophecy in Monte Mor.
For me, outreaches usually touch on three main areas: my heart, the corporate and friendships. Well, shortly after arriving in Brazil, we shared our testimonies and ministered at a ladies morning, and God decided to kick off on all three of these fronts. The theme was freedom, and God promptly decided to show me how I had laid down the weapons He had given to me and made peace with many disabilities and nuisances in my life. Me, the ’25 years passionately saved’ person. I had given up on some of the very things God had for me. ‘Eeeek’.
I received two words significant to this story…“You are protected” and I heard God tell me “I am your Superman”.
I listened and waited some more. What exactly were these things? They started coming to mind: ‘feeling accepted’, ‘battling thoughts of unworthiness’, ‘never feeling secure (safe)’, etc. “Okay, Lord, if You want to bring these up again, I guess You plan on working them out for me, God?”. Little did I know…
School of Prophecy rolled around, and that was a whole other story in itself, but I received two words significant to this story. Someone told me, “You are protected” and I heard God tell me “I am your Superman”.
Fast forward three days to the moment I first described, where there were five of us on the beach. After a lovely morning, we packed up and moved on to the most beautiful little private beach. We swam with turtles and ate Açaí (a local fruit delicacy) and laughed a lot! We took cool pictures, laughed some more, and then…we got mugged at gunpoint.
We were all okay, physically, but it sure was a shock and definitely an unwelcome turn of events!
Yes, that happened. You read correctly…gunpoint. What?!
We were all okay, physically, but it sure was a shock and definitely an unwelcome turn of events!
But God.
How amazing was it that we weren’t physically hurt and that God had just 5 days prior to that reminded me that I am protected. God had prepared me for that scary time, and He had taken what the enemy intended for evil and used it for my good. I knew God had me, and had us. Even now, He continues to work on every little area I had given up on, because He finishes what He starts.
God had prepared me for that scary time, and He had taken what the enemy intended for evil and used it for my good.
So yes, scary things can happen at any time, even when we are stepping out for and with Jesus (maybe even especially then!). Will it stop me from going again? No. Do I trust God less now? Definitely not. Yes, our perfect day was impacted by a potentially life-threatening event, but I wouldn’t have traded that outreach or that time with those girls for a safer day. God is never out of control, never caught off guard, and always at work. I trust Him most of all!
“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a FLOURISHING FINISH on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” (Philippians 1:6, The Message)
