Faith as a Fruit

I heard a plane fly overhead and stopped to look at my watch. 9:51 PM. Her flight was scheduled to leave as 9:45, so I was thankful to know everything was on time so far. Bye, Emily, I said to myself, and I realized a whole new season had just begun. 

When I finished language school in May and moved to the field, our first group of visitors had already arrived. Since then, a steady stream of families, teams, and interns have occupied my time and my ministry for the last three months. Now, with Emily's departure, the season of visitors ended, and I let out a big breath of thankfulness mixed with nervousness. Thankfulness because God blessed me week after week with strength to lead and help the teams who came. Nervousness because now that visitors aren't here, I didn't know what to do. The took up all my time, and now they're gone. Their presence filled a void, but their absense left one, too. 

I prayed, What will this new season bring? Now it is time to be the long term missionary that I set out to be, the one who doesn't leave when others do. Will you help me find my purpose and my place on this team? 

In perfect timing, we had a team meeting first thing the following Monday morning. The Hiens, the Richters, and I all met in a quiet, peaceful place for a time of planning and dreaming together. We started out with a time of prayer and worship, singing in both French and English as I strummed my guitar. Then Geoffrey opened up his Bible to share a devotional thought. 

The theme of the morning was the Holy Spirit, which was no coincidence at all as I am learning that he really needs to be theme of our entire lives. We talked about how the Holy Spirit is at the base of our calling; he is the one who has called us and prepared us (Acts 13), and so he is also at the foundation of our ministry and mission. 

It reminded me of John 15, where Jesus (who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit) says, "I am the vine and you are the branches. Remain in me and you will bear much fruit." 

"We may have a long list of things to do and accomplish as I team," I added, "but the most important thing is remaining in his love and staying attached to him." Everything else will follow. He must be the foundation. 

Do you ever feel like everything in your life is connecting? Like your circumstances and the sermon you heard at church plus that song that played on the radio and even what you saw on television are all trying to teach you the same thing? It may not happen very often but when it does, it gets your attention. 

That's exactly how I felt when I heard about the Holy Spirit being our base and the importance of resting attached to him. All this fit perfectly with what I have been studying in a Beth Moore study called Believing God. In the study, I am learning that belief (or faith) is not something you muster up on your own; it is a gift that comes from God. It is actually a fruit of the spirit! In Galatians 5, the original word that is translated as faithfulness is the same word that is often translated in the New Testament as faith. Therefore, resting attached to the Holy Spirit is the foundation for increasing our faith! 

Beth Moore also brought out Psalm 37:3, which says, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land  and feed on the faithfulness." If we feed on the faithfulness of God, his faithfulness will reside in us, and we will grow fatter in faith! 

In our meeting as I listened to each of our team members share their calling and vision, as we talked about the Holy Spirit as our base, and as we sang "Hosanna in the Highest" in French and English, I felt as though I was feeding on the faithfulness of God, and I felt faith growing inside me. 

I see how much I need to stay attached to the Holy Spirit. Before my service. Before my work. Before everything else. With the Holy Spirit as my vine, I will find my purpose and place on this team.

Stanislas said it best in the middle of our meeting. "What is most important is not our service to God but our closeness and attachment to him." 

Let this new season begin, the season of the Spirit. I want it to last the rest of my life.