Welcome back to Mustard Seed Faith Challenges. It is time for a new devotional, a new challenge and some new artwork from our design team members.
For this next challenge, our third, or MSFC#3, use something that moves or travels or is related to travel; a car, bus, plane, balloon, map, spaceship, globe...anything related to travel.
We have a nice travel-related prize of a custom string art piece for one randomly selected entrant for this challenge. Due to postal costs, U.S. domestic only, although we welcome entries from any country, anywhere.
Now for the devotional...
Traveling
mercies
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time you’ve probably come
across the term, “traveling Mercies,” which is a prayer for protection for a
group or person traveling long distances. It actually originated in the early
19th century for missionaries, who might be traveling to dangerous
locations. Now it is pulled out for all types of travels, from business trips
to vacations.
The bible
has a lot to say about prayer, and we are to pray in all circumstances. 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing”…and then
goes on to say “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.”
So we are to
pray without ceasing—for family, for travel, for the world in general-but also
give thanks in all circumstances. If we are giving thanks in all circumstances,
that means we are entrusting our lives to someone or something bigger than
ourselves. Who are we trusting with our lives and our circumstances—in all
things, in the journey we call life?
These ideas
of traveling mercies, trust and thanksgiving all gelled one day when I heard a
speaker at an event I attended with my daughter in Los Angeles.
A young man
stood up to speak through an interpreter about his travels to the United
States from his home in Central America, the “Northern Triangle,”
comprised of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. This is an area plagued by
extreme violence, dire poverty and organized crime, which has caused a
surge of refugees fleeing that area.
As he stood
up, the first thing you noticed was his broad smile. He notified the ladies in
the audience that he was still single. Then he told of his
desperate flight from his home country, expressing his wish that the problems
that plague the region could be solved so that he could one day return.
The second
thing you notice about this young man is the brace on his left arm, supporting his
one remaining finger; along with the fact that his right arm and right leg are
missing. He fell off the train he was riding when was coming to this country,
perhaps from a box car or perhaps he was hitching a ride between cars, of that
I am unsure. But he fell off, and now has been left permanently handicapped. It
is clear however, that he doesn’t view himself in that light. During his address
to the audience, he raised his arm to point to the heavens and give praise and
glory to Jesus Christ, with a smile of thanks for his life and his good
fortune.
If losing
not one, but multiple limbs were the result of one of our trips, how many of us
would be able to give praise and thanks to God? To say that we still trust him?
To say that he answered our prayers for traveling mercies? Yet that is exactly
what we are supposed to do, in everything, we are to “Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I will bless the
Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
In truth,
the type of traveling mercies we should be praying for is the companionship and
guidance of Jesus Christ through our entire journey of life, every day,
regardless of whether we don’t stray ten yards from our kitchen or travel thousands
of miles to another country.
As I write
this, I don’t know if I could, myself, give thanks if I, or one of my children
lost a life or a limb while traveling, or in any other situation. First of all,
I cannot imagine the pain of seeing one of my children suffer like that. And, full
disclosure, I can whine and cry with the best of them. But that verse in
Thessalonians is our guide, in ALL things, give thanks. And as Hebrews 12: 1
says, we are to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Sometimes
during the race the runner might fall down. Sometimes, tragically, they might
even lose a limb. The idea is to get up and continue, with God’s help. Because
even without a limb, you can still win the race.
So as you
“travel” through your day, as you are running the race Jesus has marked out for
you, ask him to help you. Don’t just ask him
to bless your chosen activities, but to guide them, to “mark out” the course
you are to run. And ask Him to help you give praise and thanks, regardless of
where your travels take you. He will be faithful to answer. Remember, the last trip Jesus took wasn’t the
agonizing journey to the cross, but the Resurrection, when he emerged victorious
from the grave! He is risen and He is able, Hallelujah!
Now for the gorgeous entries from our design team!
MariLynn DeGroot:
Tracey Fehr:
Yoonsun Hur:
All you need to do now is posts your creation using the InLinkz tool below. Thank you for stopping by and may you walk with God this day.
One randomly selected winner who resides in the U.S. will be entered to win a custom string art piece from Nurturing Naomi. Selected the state you live in and your hometown and she can create a piece for you similar to the example below for Iowa.
