Tag: faith

The Long Route

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. -Exodus 13:17-18

When I came upon those verses the other day, I had to smile.

Because so often, this is my experience with God. 

I want the short cut.

I want the quickest route.

Yet God takes me on the long one. Through the wilderness. 

And while I tap my foot and drum my fingers and wonder what in the world is taking so long, He knows what I can handle.

He’s leading me to the Red Sea.

He’s getting ready to reveal His glory.

Let’s Talk: Is something in your life taking longer than you’d like? Do these verses encourage you?

The Gift or the Giver?

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

So often, I catch myself setting my heart on an outcome rather than God.

So often, I catch myself praying for gifts when the Giver wants to give me Himself.

Here’s the thing. 

We can pray for a thousand outcomes. God can give us every single one. And somehow, we can still end up miserable. Unsatisfied.

Which is why I want my prayers to change more and more.

From…

Lord, can you give me this? 

To…

Lord, can you give me You?

If insane success will draw me closer, then that is what I want.

If failing will draw me closer, then that is what I want.

If waiting will draw me closer, then that is what I want.

If finding myself in a place of mediocrity will draw me closer, then that is what I want.

I won’t lie. These are scary prayers. Because of course I want to be successful. Nobody sets out to fail. 

But I’m learning that when we set our hearts on God, we always win. No matter the outcome. 

Because He is the source of all joy and all peace and all hope and all comfort and all strength.

My heart’s cry is that I would learn more and more to go to that source. To ask for the Giver. No matter the gift.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. -Psalm 73:26

Let’s Talk: Are you placing your hope in an outcome or are you placing your hope in God? Whoa! How’s that for a convicting question? At least it convicts me. Please tell me I’m not the only one it convicts!

*photo by weddingmusings
 

The Beauty of Being Naive

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I think I’m naive. 

Not about everything. But about some things.

For instance. 

When I tell people we’re going to adopt from the Congo, which is by and large a pilot program for many adoption agencies. The response I get usually goes something like this:

The Congo? Wow! That’s a pilot program, right? That’s pretty brave of you guys. Isn’t there a travel advisory for the Congo? Isn’t it dangerous?

To which my response usually goes something like this:

Brave? Pilot program? Travel advisory? Um….

And then I realize that really, I have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into. We just know that when God planted this adoption seed in our hearts and we started doing copious amounts of research on foster, domestic, and international adoption. We kept coming back to the Congo. 

So we said yes. In all our sweet naivety.

We truly don’t know what’s in store. And I think that’s okay. Because if we did, we might have said no. And then we wouldn’t have witnessed God at work in the ways we’ve already witnessed Him since filling out that application.

It makes me glad God doesn’t show us a detailed map, complete with every bumpy road and unexpected detour, before we agree to travel down a certain path.

I’m pretty sure if He did, we’d start to rely on the map instead of Him. 

It makes me glad that with God sitting beside us, we don’t need a map. Not when He already knows the way.

We don’t need to know the ins and outs of the journey ahead. We just have to listen and obey and trust that He’s strong enough, smart enough, all-powerful enough, to get us through the roadblocks and the detours and the potholes as they come.

Let’s Talk: Have you ever signed up for something without knowing what you were really getting yourself into? How did it turn out? Do you think you would have done it if you’d known ahead of time what was in store?