Recently I found some valuable ancient documents — journal entries from my first trip to India.
Some of the entries made me laugh, some made me cringe at my immaturity and others made me smile as I re-read the valuable lessons I learned which grew me into the person I am today. Below are some things I wrote the first time I visited India (with a little editing to make them actually readable).
God is with me
I have wanted to go to travel since I was quite little. Now there are still moments of wonder at the fact that I am really truly here. In my travels I have grown closer to God and progressively more and more in love with Him.
He frequently brings Joshua 1:9 to my mind at times when I need comforting or encouragement;
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
This is a verse God keeps bringing to my mind. It has become sort of my life verse. Whenever I get discouraged or depressed I think of Joshua 1:9 and I remember God’s promise. We never need to despair when our life or situation seems hopeless. The Lord is with us!
Dying to self
This is one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned being in India, but I’ve struggled to figure out how to put it into words.
Coming from a very small town, when I first arrived in the city I was totally overwhelmed! The city is in every way the opposite of the small, rural town I was brought up in. I came to realize that I won’t do well as an expat: I’m not sharp enough and I’m too weak. Yet I still felt that God was calling me to an international life. It seemed like a strange paradox.
I love India, but it’s VERY different from the US. The hardest thing about being in this country for me was learning the new social customs. As I was unsure of what an Indian sense of humor was like, I didn’t talk very much and I spent a large part of my first month sitting silently and watching people interact. People commented on my shyness, which bothered me as I wistfully remembered my reputation in my home country as a very flamboyant and outgoing person.
Matthew 10:39
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The truth is, I’m just a kid from a small town in the US no one’s ever heard of. But when God looks at me He sees who He made me to be, and that’s His child; a strong woman. This kid could not live outside of her comfort bubble, but the strong woman God made me to be can do anything in His power. So I asked God to help me die to myself, remove my fleshly weakness, and let the person He made me to be live and grow.
Dying to self is not fun, it’s painful and requires sacrifice and humility. Jesus died to Himself when he allowed Himself to be tortured to death for our sins, He didn’t want to do it and He didn’t have to do it. In Mathew chapter 10 Jesus tells us that following Him will be difficult. But isn’t Jesus worth any cost?
Think to yourself:
- Is He worth dying for?
- Is He worth enduring persecution for?
- Is He worth leaving your country for?
- Is He worth doing the right thing, even if nobody else will do it?
- Is He worth cleaning the house for your mom when she’s tired?
Dying to self is a small price to pay to see experience glory and freedom. Acts 1:8 says that God will send us as his witnesses to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. He was talking to his disciples when he said this, but how does it apply to us? The ends of the earth means other countries. Samaria is a little closer to home; think of other parts of the country. Judea means other parts of your state, and Jerusalem could referrer to your city and own community. God may not lead all of us to move to a new country, but he certainly does call each of us to be disciples of Him in our own homes.
Humility
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Recognize that you owe all of your strengths to God. I’m naturally pretty adaptable to new environments, but I had to admit to God that I can’t survive on my own without Him when I began to have serious struggles with fitting in.
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
God values us not for what we can accomplish but just for who we are. Parents don’t love their children for what they can accomplish. Or if they do, there is something very wrong with them.
What’s amazing is that God doesn’t need us: He is all powerful. He made us just because He loved us! It is a privilege God gives us to do things for Him.
Following God’s commandments will bring you blessing. Yet even if you think God will not accept you because of the wrong things you’ve done, the Bible says otherwise.
Romans 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is NOTHING that can separate you from the love of Christ Jesus!
Anna Sojourning 