Love Courageously

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13

The international adoption of our youngest was anything but typical. However, our God is faithful, and after living in a Russian sector of Ukraine for almost one year, God brought my son and I home to Holland, Michigan. What a year that was . . .

I am often asked how I did it. God asked me to be patient. I tried my best to trust him.

During that time of heartache and separation, I learned about the character of God. Our God is multi-faceted, and I continue to learn more about him as I study his word. However, there are three characteristics of God I have taken away from our adoption experience.

We serve a God who never leaves us.

Oh, he may allow us to grow in our faith. It may feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, but in reality, he is right beside us the entire time. When I felt I could not remain separated from my husband and our daughter another day, God sent me encouragement, usually through another person. When I became fearful we would never get to be the family our son so desperately needed, God moved our adoption forward, however slight. When I became fearful of being imprisoned in a foreign country, God comforted my trembling heart with peace and sleep. He allowed my shaky faith legs to gain strength, but he never abandoned me.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

We serve a God who loves us beyond our understanding.

God loved us while we were still covered by the filth of our sin. God loved us so much, he sent his son to live on earth and die by crucifixion – that was the cost of my adoption to his family. I cannot imagine sacrificing a child of mine for someone else like that. When I consider my whining, how uncomfortable I was outside of my own country, and my stubbornness…I do not understand why he would do this for me. His love mystifies and overwhelms me.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

We serve a God who calls us to imitate him.

I am more convinced than ever that God allows things in our lives for reasons only he understands. He whispers for us to follow him, to become more like him, and to imitate him. God loves others through us. God ministers through the work of our hands. God embraces this hurting world through our open arms. This is an area I still struggle with – what exactly am I to do? God only calls me to learn more about him, and love accordingly. I am his disciple.

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 37-39

We have been called to love others in an unconditional way. Whether sharing our testimony reveals parts of our story we would rather others not know, or not. When we know what we are doing, and when we don’t. When we are being asked to do what the world considers crazy, and doing it anyway.

We have been called to love with a courage only God can instill. God asks us to love as we have been loved. Nothing more and nothing less. Tricia displays this beautifully through her life and her book.

For me, to truly love courageously meant I had to come to the end of my human ability. That’s when God’s love took over. That’s when I finally released control, and gave our adoption journey to God. And to His glorious praise, that is when I became wholly His.

When we come to the end of ourselves is when we meet God.

What does loving courageously look like in your life? If you don’t know, continue to ask God to help you learn more about him. Ask him to reveal himself through his word. Ask him to help you see others through his eyes.

He is trustworthy. He will not leave you wondering. He will answer you.

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Revised version of original post featured at TriciaGoyer.com, Walk It Out Stories: Loving Courageously