MenuWatching God Save
“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” – Psalm 118:14
During seminary, Rachel, our daughter, Natalie, and I went on a mission trip to Guatemala. Our mission trip was organized by an American couple who spend most of their year in Guatemala working alongside 8 native Guatemalan missionaries.
Every weekday they go out on “house visits” to share the Word of God with the poorest of the lost in Guatemala, and then hold Bible school classes at one of several locations, reaching about a thousand souls per week (children plus adults). They help people spiritually, emotionally, and physically when possible, which opens up so many opportunities to share the Gospel. They make the most of what they have, and while doing this they equip North American mission teams who come for a week to help (mainly with the children), to grow in faith, and grow in their ability to share the Gospel.
For some reason our mission team elected me the “spiritual leader,” which basically meant that I was responsible for leading prayers and devotions for our pre-trip preparation meetings, plus our evening devotions during our week together in Guatemala. For the pre-trip preparation meetings, I largely drew from LCMS mission materials. I had intended to continue along this line for the team’s in-country evening devotions, but after our first day there the Holy Spirit kept leading me each morning to different Bible passages that seemed more relevant to each day’s experiences. It was uncanny, but I was beginning to see how God works sometimes.
One of the things I learned from our mission trip is that when it is time for God to use you, He will do so whether you feel you are “ready” or not. Then once He uses you to do something that is a “first” for you, you see how He takes care of you and leads you to grow – despite your fears – so you are prepared for the next thing He has in mind.
That what I experienced as we went on the house visits in Guatemala. Given the living conditions there, “shack visits” may be a more apt term, as most of the homes we visited were little more than corrugated tin and bamboo.
Before the trip, I had a hard time imagining how these visits would go. Why would someone let a group of total strangers, many obviously from a foreign country who barely speak Spanish, into their homes? But they did, even though they had no idea that we were coming. And they listened to what we had to say. The ground is fertile for the seed of the Gospel.
This is how it went. After a few minutes of discussion and translation, the Guatemalan missionaries simply turned to us and asked if we had a Scripture passage we wanted to share, and why. And then the Holy Spirit just took over.
One day, visiting a lady named Carmen, some of whose family were believers and some not, I shared Psalm 118 and we talked about looking to the Lord for help, for He is our salvation. I found myself saying the Holy Spirit sent me 1500 miles from my home to yours to tell you that Jesus loves you, He died for you, and He wants you to be His. You did not know we were coming to your home, and neither did we until we got here. But that is the way God works. Sometimes He goes to great lengths to tell you that He loves you… or He simply uses your neighbor. Why not just let Him love us and save us?
Before the trip, I had been skeptical that we would “accomplish” much as a mission team, given our generally weak Spanish competence. But after sharing the Gospel and praying with the people we met, I saw what God was accomplishing.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, as you prepare for Thanksgiving and watch how God is working in your life, I invite you to read and reflect on Psalm 118, which begins and ends with: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”
The Lord reveals His steadfast love for us in the Messiah, Jesus, for He is good; He loves us and has become our salvation.
~Pastor Nickel
