Really?

I just want you to know that God is good and He is at work. He is good and He is at work whether you choose to acknowledge Him or not. He is good and He is at work whether you love Him or hate Him. He is good and He is at work whether you were in a church pew this morning or in your bed with a hangover from a late Saturday night.

God is good. God is at work. God is faithful. God loves you.

Christ gave His life to win your all. If you seek Him, you will find Him; that’s a guarantee. If you find Him, you will love Him. If you love Him, you will follow in His ways.

Anyways, I thought you should know this truth today. If you have known me for a while and you haven’t heard it, I apologize for the delay.

Ok. So I’m on this journey. It’s like a backpacking adventure with no set agenda. There are {a few} unknowns. Today I became nervous–I don’t get nervous. I think I had a hot flash. But the raging nerves have quelled (shout out to my high school English teacher) because God is good, He’s at work, He is faithful, and I know He loves me eternally. I want my days to be less about my personal good and more about His good. It’s not coincidental…

Nope, statistics will not allow irony to discount the evidence of God’s work.

…that when we spend time seeking the Lord and commit to living for Him, His desires and our desires will align. He molds us. He works through us. And He makes our joy full. That’s why I encourage you to seek the Lord: I want you to be full of joy. I want you to experience life abundant, not just hear or read about it.

With this trip in mind, my list of reasons for joy is growing as God continues to move.

Pre-trip:

My flight situation worked out incredibly.

I have friends in the connecting city I will be staying in.

My friends are taking a break from that city (seemingly a bummer), but they have friends that I will borrow and hopefully befriend.

I have an epic sleeping bag borrowed from a great friend. The sleeping bag was second to the encouragement he offered when we met.

I have dehydrated fruit in my backpack from an awesome friend.

A friend called and prayed over me last night.

My mom prayed over me this morning.

An epic friend from college donated to the coffee fund.

Friends from all parts of my life continue to support me. The generosity is an encouragement.

Friends from church are keeping me in their prayers.

I met with a handful of awesome people on Monday of last week.

I have a friend lined up as a worst case, go-to lifeline. (Three friends have my “will”; all three would likely present different copies with their own adjustments/edits…that’s why I love them.)

I wanted some backpacking Columbia pants with a zipper pocket for my passport. I hate spending money on clothing for me. It’s hard to be thrifty when you are looking for something specific. I checked at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Academy. I couldn’t make myself spend $60 on a pair of pants. I went to Salvation Army. They were closed. I went to Rugged Warehouse in Cloverleaf Plaza. I haven’t been there since 8^th grade when I bought some knock off shoes that broke on day one. They wouldn’t let me return them…thus ending our relationship. I went in to look around. Out of thousands of items of clothing on the men’s side of the warehouse, there was ONE single pair of Columbia pants. That pair was on a clearance rack. Of course, they were my size, and they were $15. Just coincidence, right? Now that other $45 bucks gets to go with me to be put to good use. I checked every men’s rack in the place just to be sure no other Columbia clothing was present; there was not a single other item.

These are all small things right? Wrong. These are big things.

My favorite big thing happened today. I got to my gate in the airport, and I sat by myself. When you are a guy with long hair that happens sometimes. The first few passengers-to-be chose seats at a safe distance, on the other rows. Then, this guy comes over.

Do you know who this is?!

I didn’t either a few hours ago, but now I know him well. He is Joseph. Joseph walks up and sits 2 seats from me. He was trying to access the free Wi-Fi (which you actually pay for by watching ads). He was confused, and he asked me to help him, which made my day. We carried on a short conversation and he enjoyed his internet access. I boarded the plane after some ticket confusion (I didn’t have a seat initially, just 3 stars on my ticket–I went up to the counter and they gave me a window seat). Sitting in my window seat, I stared off into the distance, thankful that I would only have to fight for an armrest on one side. Who sits next to me? Joseph. I will let you know how many people were on the flight once I look it up but the flight was full, and there were hundreds of people on that plane.

Joseph and I busted out laughing. We both shared stories about where we were headed and our purpose there. We wound up talking about Liberia, Nigeria, Europe, Puerto Rico, plane tickets costing too much, work, school, sharing Jesus, and our personal stories. Joseph was in his 60s. I listened as he shared how he came to know Jesus through a missionary in Africa. He was sharing how the missionaries would come, even though they knew there were major health risks back in his day and prior (and some still), and teach about Jesus. This meant a lot to Joseph. Joseph shared about his baptism. He discussed “speaking the name of God.” I love this phrase. In our world, the status quo is to show moderate kindness, when convenient. I got to meet and befriend a brother in Christ on the plane and discuss the Ultimate Source of all goodness, and the great need for us to point others to Him; what a blessing. I had to gate check my backpack; Joseph and I didn’t get to say a goodbye, as I was waiting around for my bag. I went to the flight board and found Joseph’s gate location. Unfortunately, my boarding pass wouldn’t allow me to ride over to his terminal. Fortunately, we will meet again, and spend eternity together. I am overwhelmed.

God is good. He is at work. He is faithful. He shows His love.

We left each other with this statement: what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? I’ll leave you with the same.

#LETMEINTRODUCEYOU

#lovedoes #JESUSisLORD

#standingsidebyside

#theLordismyShepherd

If you decide you’d like to contribute to the adventure fund, you can do so through PayPal. {paypal.me/greghelms}

Please keep me in your prayers!