Stand Still and See the Miracles Happen

The experience of waiting is often viewed as a passive and unexciting one, yet I want to assure you that this is most certainly not so. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Laws and a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law, and traveling to see more of the world and gain some international work experience, I now find myself in what I believe to be the “waiting season of life”, hoping to find a job that will provide me with the opportunity to pursue justice and help people.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been called “the manager” due to my natural take-charge attitude. Now, however, I am being challenged to be still and wait, and learn to balance my natural go-getter personality with the new “waiting expectantly” attitude. Whether I was reading the Bible, listening to a sermon, receiving a prophecy, or just simply thinking and meditating, I always received the reassuring and encouraging message to “wait and trust Me, I will bring the right opportunities and people into your life.” Therefore, on this promise, my soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him, knowing that the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him (Psalm 62:5; Lamentations 3:25).

While I was waiting and trusting God, I received an e-mail from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in Geneva asking me to undertake a traineeship with them. I did not even apply for that traineeship; therefore, the first thought that came into my mind was that trusting God to bring the right opportunities to me works! It was when I finally stopped chaotically chasing everything, hoping to catch something, and started to wait expectantly and trust God that He opened the door of a new opportunity for me. Two weeks later, I was training with the WEA, a permanent representation to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland. 
WEA is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in their communities. The WEA network works to give a worldwide identity, voice, and platform to evangelical Christians. The organization achieves this through seeking holiness, justice and renewal at every level of society. I was responsible for writing reports on the human rights situation in Democratic Republic of Congo and Kazakhstan, for the submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a process that involves a review of the human rights situation of all UN Member States and it provides the opportunity for each State to explain what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries. The reason why the WEA submits reports to the UPR is to address human rights violations in countries under review and give recommendations to the governments of these countries on how to improve their human rights situation. Another reason for these reports and their follow-ups is to inform the churches on what their government says it will do and what it actually does to improve their human rights situation. WEA strongly believes in the power of churches, God’s children, to make a change in their country; but first they need to be well informed.

I asked God to bless my time in Geneva and help me make the most of it. I prayed that He would put me into contact with people who needed Him, who needed to be encouraged and (re)connected to Him. It was very humbling for me to experience how God used me, with all my imperfections, to introduce Him to others and to tell people about His unconditional love and forgiveness. I used my personal experiences to explain to my new friends how God speaks to me and what He has done in my life, and that He can do the same for them.

You might be thinking that you are where you are in life to do one thing, but God may be using you in so many other ways that you might not even be aware of! I thought I was in Geneva just to write reports, but I ended up meeting interesting people and having significant conversations about Christ, which changed their perspectives on life and Jesus.

Waiting should always be accompanied by prayer and the expectation that every day you are getting closer to God and to what He has prepared for you, while noticing and enjoying His miracles in the present. I encourage you to stand still and consider the wondrous works of God (Job 37:14). Pray that not one miracle He does in your life goes unnoticed, because every single thing that you notice God doing allows you to experience His presence and to increase your faith and trust in Him. Waiting is a period in which you can rest in Christ, order your thoughts, and pay attention to what God is doing in you, around you and through you. It takes courage and determination to wait expectantly; therefore, waiting is an active act where you constantly need to set your mind on God’s promises! Hold on to the promise that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint; therefore, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 37:7). Waiting is not a period of “doing nothing”. In this waiting season of my life, I do look for vacancies and apply for jobs, but I do not stress about the economic crisis or the lack of (paid) jobs in my chosen field of human rights. I believe that God is faithful to those who wait on Him and that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Your Heavenly Father is well able to make a way where there seems to be no way, and even to make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19). Now therefore, stand still and see the great things the Lord is about to do before your eyes! (1 Samuel 12:16)

Encouragements From My Diary

Since I recently came back from Bangkok where I was doing a legal internship, I know that some of my friends are expecting a blog about my experiences in Bangkok. However, I have decided to do something different this time. I thought it would be better to write a blog about what got me through these experiences, and what encourages me right now. I keep a diary where I write about my thoughts, difficulties, revelations, progress, questions and answered prayers. I will simply share with you some parts of my diary; the passages that make me think deeper and that are currently encouraging me.

One of the passages that I’d like to share with you is from a Joyce Meyer sermon: “Finish what you've started. Finish your walk with God. Grow up! Go after spiritual maturity, not just stuff. Whatever you do, don’t let money rule your decisions. No amount of money is worth your peace. No amount of money is worth the stress that you end up with if you got a schedule that never leaves you any time for anything, except to run. God has a better life for us than just run and go and run.”

A prayer that helps me, comes straight from the Bible! “My prayer is for God my Father to fill me with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That I may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful (me: and not just busy all the time!) in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:9-10). Instruct me and teach me in the way I should go (Psalm  32:8). Fashion my heart to make it look like Jesus’s (Psalm 33:15). Deliver me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4). Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 1:10).”

A sermon by Francis Chan has made me think about how I live my life. Do I live as Jesus would want me to live, the way that people who followed Him lived (the stories that are written in the Bible), or does my lifestyle mostly depend on culture and traditions? “When you are alone, reading the Bible, praying to God, do you feel peace? Or do you think that you could do more for God? Are you convicted of certain things?”

Since I find it difficult to focus when I am reading the Bible, but at the same time I want God to communicate with me through His Word, I decided to…start highlighting! Before I start reading a book from the Bible, I ask God to speak to me, to give me more revelations. Then I start reading a book with the intention that God will speak to me through it. Once I read a passage that applies to me and my situation, I highlight it. After completing the book, I go back and see all the passages that God used to speak into my life. I used this method while reading the book of Isaiah, and this is what God has told me (I quote from the book of Isaiah).

• In returning and rest, you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. 
• Therefore, the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him…He will be very gracious to you and the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying “This is the way, walk in it”. 
• You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not cast you away: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 
• For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, “fear not, I will help you.” 
• I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. 
• Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 
• Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: “fear not My servant.” 
• I have formed you, you are My servant…you will not be forgotten by Me! 
• I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. 
• For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. 

I have decided to stop panicking about what I am going to do next in life, where I will be living, what job will I have (and when!), who will I marry (and when!), how many kids will I have, how many kids will I adopt...making plans A, B and C, just to make sure for my own peace of mind that my life will be awesome in any case scenario. I have decided to stop chasing everything at the same time and being afraid of missing out on something good. Instead, I will be still, trust God’s Word(promises), seek Him and spiritual maturity first, and He Will give me the desires of my heart. And remember,“those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing (Psalm 34:10).” Amen!

He Saw Me Shining in the Future

A while ago, for some reason, I thought of the people who had a significant negative impact on my life; people who mistreated me - bullied, rejected, ignored, used. I guess one of the worst types of mistreatments occurred in highschool, when I was an insecure and unhappy 17 year old girl. I was going to a "white school", which means I was one of the very few "foreigners" in that school. I looked different from all the Dutch blond girls and I had an accent (still do!). In addition, I spoke up for other teens who got teased and couldn't stand up for themselves. All of this made me an easy target. I remember going to school crying, knowing that I would hear humiliating remarks thrown at me by the three school bullies, who were all in my class. I remember going back home crying, knowing that nothing will change anytime soon. I would come home, lock myself in my room and read the Psalms from the Bible. I found my comfort in God. He saw everything, He knew everything, and He gave me the strength to go through it all. He was there for me, encouraging me through His Word. It was better for me to go Through it, than if God would have made my life hurt-free pink fairytale. Because of that experience, I have more compassion for people who are hurt and I learned how to stand up and speak up for myself and for others. 

God sees us now, but He also sees how we will be in the future. He saw me in the future, He knew I will be better again, confident and Shine Joy! This life is a race, and I believe that Jesus stands at the finish line cheering us on and telling us that All things are possible for those who love God and keep running towards Him. 

The funny thing is, the people who made my life so miserable...I can't even remember their faces or names! All I know, I am much stronger now, and confident that with God, I can handle Any situation, no matter how hurtful or humiliating it is. If someone is making your life less pleasant now, trust me, after a while, you won't even remember their names! So is it really worth to get agitated and dwell on every negative thing people tell you? Don't let "little people" take away your joy. Don't get distracted. Shake off the negativity, get yourself a positive attitude by keeping your mind set on what God has to say. Start discovering who God is and on that journey you will find out who you are and step by step you will discover why you are here.