“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”
Lamentations 3:22-25
I read this verse and the Lord really spoke to me. Based off of my last blog, I am sure you could see the deep struggle in my heart during South Africa. It has been a month since my faith was absolutely shaken and my identity felt lost and all I can find myself saying this past week and a half is “great is thy faithfulness.” To the Lord. This accurately depicts my past month as the Lord has pulled me from this murky water I was sitting in and set me upon his rock.
He is faithful in all circumstances. He is faithful to lead me to his will. I am constantly seeking the Lord and asking him to reveal to me his will and to align my heart with his. When I found myself thinking of what I want rather than what God wants I know I can get myself into trouble. Proverbs 16:9 says “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” The Lords ways are most certainly not our ways. His way is higher then any way I could think myself, even when the way is not as I thought. God is faithful even when our expectations are not met.
Last Monday, I cut my hair off. As I stood in a room, worshipping the Lord singing “there is nothing I hold onto”, Holy Spirit began to convict my heart. I began to ask “what do I hold on to Lord?” I realized I was holding onto this false reality I would start to date when I get home and hopefully be married in a year or two. I was holding out on things to go my way. These thoughts bring me to Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems to be right to a man, but it’s end is the way to death.” The thoughts of this lie seem innocent right? Who doesn’t want to be in love? To the world, this standard arises that I am “getting up there” in age and what I see is that so many around me have graduated college or are married or are having kids. Here is my problem, I am in comparison thinking that my way is how it should look. I look at this verse knowing that the truth is I have no control of my future and as soon as I begin to believe my future lies in my hand, is the moment that destruction can be produced.
The enemy planted a few lies in my head that weekend including “There is something wrong with you.” Or “You are failing at life.” Yet again I find myself saying back “great is thy faithfulness Lord.” The Spirit is reminding me of 2 Corinthians 3:17 which says “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Oh the freedom that comes in walking with the Lord. The Spirit is my one true guide and I no longer come to agreement with these lies. His Spirit only leads to truth and anything else, is not valid. Praise God, once again, because as you read in my last blog, that was something I was struggling with A LOT.
I have no desire to walk in the ways of the world any longer. There is no standard I need to reach. There is no perfect way to live the Christian life. Jesus asks that we “Keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26)” and “Abide in him (John 15).” His way is perfect he is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life(John 14:6).” His way is worth the wait. I hold on to the promise in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” He is faithful to provide for me and he not once has proved that to be untrue. God is faithful! He is worthy of every step of obedience and every ounce of trust.
God is faithful in all of the small things just ask much as in the big things. His faithfulness reveals his grace, mercy and his love for us. As we receive each breath, he is faithful. As we wake up to the sun rising, he is faithful. As we get out of our beds and walk, his faithfulness is revealed. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13).” No matter what, God is faithful to his children. He is a good God even in a world of chaos and unknown and challenge, God has shown me to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).” We do not have to trust in what we believe we know and can understand, we simply must put our trust in our Lord knowing that he is all knowing and all powerful and as Romans 8:28 says “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
I pray that you would rest in the fact that the Lord is faithful and that you do not have to rely on the standards of the world to hold you together and to be seen as successful or “having it all together.”
As I reflect on the fact that this season is wrapping up, I feel the need to share with my loving readers that I will officially be stepping away from missions abroad. This does not mean missions is over because everywhere i go is a mission field even in Wadsworth, Ohio. God has given me passion and zeal for missions abroad and I pray it will be in my future. He has given me a vision of what that will look like for me and with that being said, this fall, I will attend Malone University to pursue a Bachelors degree in Nursing to one day serve the medical needs of underprivileged countries (my prayer is Africa). I am trusting the Lord with the ways he has provided already for this to happen as well as the fact that he has truly given me excitement to go back to school. He has blessed me to see the broader spectrum of life, that my heart will remain wide open to his calling, wherever it may be. I would love for you to join me in prayer on how I can continue to live a missional lifestyle while back at home, as well as a job this summer, transitioning into long term time in Ohio and that I may finish my season in Ecuador strong. I love you all and as always, appreciate your dedication to my journey over the past few years. My time with world race may be coming to a close, but my race with the Lord will never end. PRAISE GOD for his steadfast love and faithfulness.
With Abundant Love,
Hannah
Congratulations on your future as a nurse. It’s a career that I hold near and dear to my heart. The nursing world needs amazing women and men always ! You come from a legacy of excellence and you will be the same!
Hanny!!! I’m so happy for you and so thankful to have a friend, like you, who steps into boldness with the Father!!! You are a treasure my friend, I’m praying for you as you step into this next season of life! I LOVE YOU! Thanks for sharing your heart!!!
I can’t deny being happy I will get to see you for a bit while you’re studying nursing. I know God has big plans for you and it may be short term, but in the meantime I will cherish the time. God has pulled you
Through many struggles this past year to prep you for the struggles ahead. You know in God all things are possible. My prayer is you finish strong and are able to be humbly proud of this past year with the relationships you have built and the people you have served.
HANNAH KRAUS!!! Oh. My. GOODNESS!! (This is me giving you the biggest hug right now) Every time I read your blogs I miss you SO stinkin much and I want a reunion!! Thanks for being so inspiring. Praying for your future— I can’t even handle thinking of all the precious lives you’re gonna impact. I’ll be the physical therapist on your medical team okay?!! Love you so dang much. Enjoy those last sweet moments in Ecuador
hannah!! i adore you!! getting to watch you love jesus in this season and the next is an absolute gift:))
Hannah, you are so right – the world is a mission field – “life is ministry, ministry is life,” right? And Godly, dedicated, loving, compassionate men and women are needed now in the medical field more than ever! I entered the nursing field because I knew it would also be ministry, not just a job…and I also knew nurses will ever and always be needed in every corner of the world. The opportunities will be wide open for you! You have been such a blessing to Squad H, and I’m certain you will continue to serve and love well in the name of Jesus in all the places you go from here. I’m keeping every one of you on the squad in prayer – that you embrace every day, making the most of this sweet season together in Ecuador. You know it will pass quickly, and too soon, you’ll all be longing to be back together. Cherish each moment!
KAELYN!!!! Wow I miss you so much I would do a lot to hug you right now!!! I am beyond excited for this journey with the Lord and please you can join me!!! Also don’t worry, Ike and I are going to plan the reunion for this summer and hopefully there is no doubt that I will see you at Hans wedding?!!