Megan will arrive in Russia soon to begin her service in a transitional home for orphans. She recently sent this —
I have been praying for some scripture that would be especially helpful for my time in St. Petersburg.
I was going through a workbook on short-term missions we used as a team on one of my previous trips. I stumbled upon the scripture 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I was resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasicve words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your fauith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s poower.
When I was reading through this passage, I could definitely see how this could be applied to my experience in Russia. It talks in this scripture about fear and though I am not exactly fearful of this trip, I am a little nervous. Nervous about doing things I have never done before such as ride a plane alone or live with a family I do not know.
But I found comfort in this verse because it showed me that its not really about me, its about Him and the work He is going to do through me.
It showed me that by living a God honoring life, that alone can show His love even though there is a language barrier. One thing I have been praying about is the language barrier, I really felt at peace in that area when I read this verse.
The part where it talks about coming with persuasive and wise words (though this was not what Paul probably was talking about) showed me that in some cases actions speak louder than words.
I just wanted to share a little of the insights the Lord gave me when reading this verse.
