“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
Deuteronomy 8:2
I started this blog because God changed my life in Peru in June of 2014. He used that trip to bring me back to Him, to redeem and restore my life, to guide me back into a sweet relationship with Him.
Since then, I have constantly had to go out of my comfort zone, and it has been so rewarding every time. I have had to speak on stage with no prior warning, approach strangers and make friends with them (I scared a few of them away, sorry!), camp in the Bahamas in pretty horrible camping conditions, jump off a cliff (okay, that was just for fun), teach for the first time ever and in front of a panel of women, and now be part of a flashmob as I get ready to return to Peru in about a week.
This past year has been nothing short of adventurous and full of unknowns. But as I meditate on that verse above, I cannot help but see how God has led me from one situation to the next. I did not know where each step was leading, but I was willing to follow His lead.
As I became part of a discipleship group, I desired to be humbled and tested. I wanted God to reveal what was in my heart. I wanted to become a woman who follows His commandments out of joy, and not out of fear or indifference. And oh did He answer those prayers! The humbling came, the tests, the searching, the exposure of hidden things in my life, and the tears came. SO many tears. Tears of sorrow, tears of repentance, tears of yearning, and tears of joy.
I feel joy because It has been a year of letting God take the lead and seeing the difference it has made in my life. My first blog post starts out:
“If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?” Galatians 2:14
A hypocrite. That’s what I was.”
But because of HIS never ending love and grace towards me, I can stand here, one year later, and write a blog that starts out:
“…For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.” Psalm 26:1-3
Your life CAN be redeemed, my friends. He is a builder and repairer. Want to know the best part? He wants to. (Read Ezra and Nehemiah!)
Jeremiah 29:13 says “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Just as He has been faithful with me, He is with you, even when you and I are not.
Seek him. Ask him to search you out. Repent from your sins and ask him to redeem you and build you up in Him. But don’t forget to also actually receive His forgiveness and His love. Accept it. Take it. Embrace it.
It is worth it.
#shamelessplug: If you’d like to donate any amount for my trip to help me finish fundraising, you may go here and click on my name, Gaby Herrera. It would mean the world to me, as all I want is to go and be used to transform lives as I myself am radically transformed into a woman who brings glory to God.
Comfort in the wilderness 