But he said to me, "My grace is suffcient for you, for my power is made perfect
in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Rights and Expectations

While at training camp this past summer, before I left to Romania for three weeks, Don Rock, who is over the Adventures in Missions Ambassadors Program, spoke on rights and expectations.

Matthew 5:21-24--No right to stay mad

Romans 12:4-8--No right to be insecure

Matthew 8:19-22--No right to be comfortable
Matthew 10--No right to be independent






I learned really quickly how important these four little things were when on the mission field. I was constantly reminded how I had to lay down my rights and expectations.


When someone on my team offended me, I was reminded that I had no right to be angry with them.

When I was terrified standing infront of a group of people and speaking, I was reminded that I had no right to be insecure. The Holy Spirit would give me the words to say and He would make sure that what needed to be heard WOULD be heard.


After a week of being in Romania and being completely out of my comfort zone and not having anything to hold onto but God, I realized I had NO right to be comfortable. God has called me to a life that isn't always comfortable. I've learned to not rely on being in comfortable situations but rather to put ALL dependency on God.

The biggest thing I was convicted of was independency. When I wanted to be independent and pride myself what I could do by myself, I was reminded that Christians are not made to be independent, but to lean on our brothers and sisters in Christ, and more importantly, our Father. I learned to trust my team mates and realized how much I needed them. We could not have accomplished what we did during that month without each other. Every person on our team was a valuable part.
Don also spoke on expectations that night and how we should throw out expectations and go with a completely open mind. At first, I didn't realize how many expectations I had until after I arrived in Romania and realized how much different it was than I expected.

I've since realized that it is VERY important not to hold expectations when going on the mission field. Those expectations I held were distractions from the task I was there to do. I hope that next time I get the opportunity to be on the mission field, I can keep an open mind about what how it is and what I do.

That message that Don Rock gave that night continues to stick in my head. It was a very humbling message and it definitely convicted me when I was in Romania. I continue to learn from this message even today, 4 monthes after I heard it.