Why Not Indonesia & Japan — By, Ismael Sapoval

It’s been 3 weeks since we have arrived. To say that its been a whirlwind would be an understantment. It feels like we have already experienced a lifetime! New phone numbers, new towels and bedding, new pots and pans, new foods, new sounds and sights. Much to the “delight” of JoAnn, we have some new little friends around the house. Everyone says they eat bugs and ants. JoAnn reluctantly agreed that they can “stay.” Sometimes we look at each other as if to say–CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? Is this really happening?

Joshua had some pretty big shoes to fill with the passing of Moses. The pressure to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land was enough to keep anyone up at night. Though the nation was by most standards considered small, Joshua now found himself in charge of leading TWO million people into unknown territory. Though JoAnn and I were not handed off two million people to lead, we have found ourselves being called to walk forward (or rather fly for 19 hours) into a land and territory that requires us to be strong and courageous when we feel anything but.

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“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s aide. Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all the people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…” – Joshua 1:1-2

God gets to the point. “Moses is dead; I’ve now put you in charge….get your people moving.” Like Joshua, God has a mission and purpose for each of us, and He’s ready for us to get going too! So many of us, including me, spend too much time in the wilderness of unbelief and fear. We don’t take God at His Word and believe the promise that He is always with us.

We stay frozen in wildernesses of shame, regret, and unforgiveness, and we can’t seem to move forward no matter how badly we want to.

I know It’s hard to leave the known…. even if it is bad for us, for the new land of the unknown. I honestly get it. I’ve been there, too.

But we must. I must!

We must leave behind the old and embrace the new territories, new opportunities….and new land God is calling us to travel into.

We must choose faith over fear — obedience over complacency.

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The new territories, new lands, new horizons God is calling each of us to cross means we must choose His ways over our way. His directions over our own. It will take courage to trust God, and it will require us to be brave when we want to hide.

And in those moments, when our hearts feel weak, and our fear begins to rise inside us…that’s when we need to remember God’s promise…He is always with us.

ALWAYS.

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