Struggling with God

The sunday before I left Uganda I was in Kampala. I attended Kampala International Church. The Pastor preached from Genesis 12 about God calling Abraham out of his own country, away from his family and go to a land that He would show him. But not without a promise... a promise that he would make him great in order to be a blessing, so that all the families of the earth would be blessed. The pastor also talked how God would later give a name to this nation. The name was Israel, which means “one who struggles with God.” God chose a people that he would link himself to. A people to be forever loving and struggling with. In order that all the families of the earth would be blessed.

In a similar way God calls us all to a path that he has chosen for us. For me, right now, that is “the end of the road” Bundibugyo. And I have for sure been wrestling with God along the way. I struggle with how to respond to the multitude of requests and needs. I struggle with culture and language and how to love my friends well. I struggle to find time to be with God. I struggle a lot. But I am encouraged that God himself invites His people to struggle and as Psalms 118:2 says, “Let Israel (or the God strugglers) say, “His steadfast love endures forever”

I’ve been in Bundibugyo a year now. And I thankful for this short time in America to rest and reflect on the path that God has taken me. To be reminded again that as I struggled along, he held my hand the entire way. Tomorrow I return to this place so characterized by hardship. Pray for me as I struggle along that I would not forget that His love for me never stops or decreases. And that the wrestling has a purpose... not only to bring me closer to him but also to bless the nations... even the least of these in Bundibugyo. Pray that I would embrace the struggle!