
“But He commanded the skies to open; He opened the doors of heaven,”
Psalm 78:23 (NLT).
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take,”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT).
How often do you find yourself focused on the chaos and uncertainty of life rather than on the One who created you? If you find yourself getting distracted often by life’s inevitable storms, you are not alone. As believers, we must constantly refocus our gaze. In fact, to fully experience the freedom of His promise, we must hold fast to our faith--at all times. If He can “command the skies to open,” and open “the doors of heaven,” surely He can carry all of our burdens! The hardest part is knowing that we must sometimes leap before the net appears.
I want to share with you a powerful testimony, sent in by one of our ministry friends. The story shows what happens when we truly give everything—all of our fears, dreams, etc.—to the Lord. Our friend sent us a testimony about Sandra, the wife of an international student whom she got to know. They met in an English conversation class, and became friends. Sandra expressed interest in the Bible, and the two women began meeting weekly in the basement of the library to read and talk together. Our ministry friend writes,
“One day, in an attempt to explain the Gospel, I shared the following illustration: There was once a professional tightrope walker who enjoyed doing public demonstrations. He began slowly, by crossing a large ravine in front of a breathless audience. When arrived at the other side, he asked an audience member if they believed that he was able to cross that wide ravine again. ‘Yes!’ The audience member replied. The tightrope walker then asked that same audience member if they believed it enough to sit on his shoulders while he did it. Most of us can understand why the sheepish audience member shrank back from this opportunity. Intellectual belief is good, but it falls short of the goal.
To fully experience the freedom of trust, a bigger step was needed. I explained to Sandra that trusting Jesus for salvation means that we choose to ‘sit on His shoulders’ with our lives. Jesus is able to carry us over the ravine of sin into the presence of God, and if He is able to do that for us, then He is able to manage our whole lives as well. We can rest in Him and in His ability to carry us completely. The following week, Sandra told me that she would like to ‘sit on Jesus’s shoulders.’ What a delight to my heart. She prayed to receive Christ as Savior, and continues to walk as a believer to this day.”
How complicated we try to make the Gospel sometimes. And yet how simple it is, when we remember to sit on His shoulders, trusting Him to care for our sin, our efforts, our family, our entire lives. Jesus is able to carry it all!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take,”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT).
For More Information
Did you know that there are over 4.5 million international students who study at universities across the world? If you have a heart for international students, and would like to learn more about becoming an ISI Prayer Partner, click here.