To Your Name Give Glory

10 Oct To Your Name Give Glory

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! –Psalm 115:1

I was actually at a friend’s house for a bonfire the other night and he asked me about Honduras and what I learned. My six weeks in Honduras were incredible, I would describe it as one of the better, but more challenging, experiences I have ever had emotionally and physically. I grew and learned so much that it took me about thirty seconds to think and even respond to my poor friend who was sitting there in silence. I learned a lot about how the Lord is in control and even if His plans don’t make sense in the moment or align precisely with the plans I had they are still perfect and meant to prosper. One reoccurring thing that really stood out to me though was how when I fully surrendered and did things solely for his glory, I got to see His presence and provisions in so many cool ways.

Senderos de Amor is an all boy’s orphanage where boys and young men ranging from the ages 5-18 years old reside.  On one of our ministry days, after arriving at Senderos we were met by another church group who had doing some repair projects and installing window screens in each of the dormitories.  Their time had come to a close, but they had left fourteen (14) ceiling fans that could be used to replace broken ones.  They asked if we could switch them out?

I decide to take charge on installing the fans, even though I honestly had no previous knowledge of how to install anything!  I quickly tried to use the wonderful world of Lowe’s how-to videos and I asked a good friend who had some experience with electricity.  The next two days we spent about six hours at Senderos, but only had a total of three fans installed to prove it! I was facing a lot of adversity in regards to tools and equipment needed and starting to get frustrated by the whole process.

About four days later, we found ourselves with some proper ceiling anchors and the screws necessary to mount the remaining fans.  While in route, it immediately hit me that I had yet to pray about the whole project.  I had asked Lowe’s and a friend, BUT I hadn’t even thought to ask the Lord for guidance or help. So once we had arrived, I asked everyone to circle up and pray for our time at Senderos.  Not only for our time of ministry as a whole, but also for help from the Lord in hanging the ceiling fans.

After prayer, as we walked toward the dorms to get started, one of the mission team members immediately said, “Hey Ross, I have some experience with electricity and hanging ceiling fans… do you mind if I head upstairs and get a separate team started on switching those out?” I was utterly amazed, but then before I could say YES, we were joined by another guy who was an employee of the orphanage.  He had experience also, so we could have two groups going at once!

Within five minutes of asking for His help, the Lord had provided me with more wisdom and experience than any how-to videos or phone calls could ever do.  At the end of the day, we had installed TEN ceiling fans!  After taking me six hours to hang just three!  It was just a few ceiling fans, but the Lord quickly reminded me just how crazy I was to try and do it on my own.  It was just ceiling fans, but He wanted me to surrender it.

It’s hard to describe with words, but seeing the Lord faithfully respond was truly incredible. The young men absolutely loved the fans and were so thankful for the cooler air they would bring.  They thanked us over and over, which gave us a great opportunity to give glory to God. There are so many other examples from the summer of how the Lord faithfully provided when I surrendered.  But this little project taught me perfectly.  We might be able to accomplish things on our own (or even install three fans), but we can do so much more when we ask Him to join us and we surrender.

Even to this day, after incredible events like this, I still find myself struggling to surrender or live solely for His glory.  I struggle with selfish desires for attention or acceptance and constantly have to evaluate how much I rely on my own strength.  I am learning this is not something I will grow out of, but my sinful nature and pride.

My prayer is you can relate to this.  Maybe you are kicking off a Monday at the office or heading to midterm, but I pray you take a moment to step back and think about what is in front of you.  Are you trying to complete all of it on your own?  Why not take a few moments to ask our Heavenly Father to join you!  Just ask the Lord for guidance and wisdom.  As Him for your actions to give Him glory and then prepare for the joy and wonder you will get by watching Him work!

Have a great week.  God Bless,

Ross, aka El Gigante!