I know who goes before me.

A lot of people ask me if I'm nervous or scared about this summer...and yes, there are many small things I worry about, but overall, not really. Sure, I go through moments of sheer panic, but I think Chris Tomlin's song "Our God" sums it up well:

Water, You turned into wine

Opened the eyes of the blind

There's no one like You

None like You

Into the darkness, You shine

Out of the ashes we rise

There's no one like You

None like You

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God, You are higher than any other

Our God is healer

Awesome in power

Our God, our God

And if our God is for us

Then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us

Then what could stand against

Then what could stand against

I serve the God who turned water into wine. I serve the God who walked on water, opened the eyes of the blind, raised Lazarus from the dead, parted the Red Sea, and fed the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and some fish. I serve the God who spoke the earth into motion. And I serve the God who died and was raised again. Those are just a few examples of how great our God is, but did you let them soak in? Do you understand the magnitude of His awesomeness?! I serve this God, and God has called me to serve this summer, so no, I'm not scared. I also serve the God who had Jonah swallowed by a stinkin' fish when he tried to run away from his calling. I was once told, "Obedience is always safer." And in Jeremiah 29:11 God tells me he has plans for me! He doesn't promise those plans will always be easy, fun, or necessarily safe...but He has plans. And his plans trump mine, every single time. 

Another Chris Tomlin song that sums up many of my feelings: 

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies is always by my side

The One who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies is always by my side

Our AWESOME God is on my side. He goes before me and stands behind me. In Joshua 1:9 God says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” So this summer, I'm going to do my best to be strong and courageous when the devil tries to get me down, which is a lot easier to write about than actually do and I know that my human flesh will fail, but I have the God of angel armies on my side.