Psalm 121
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
We as South Puget Sound Women of Vision have been on a journey over the past six months. It began when we answered the call of God to educate and advocate for the victims of human trafficking. It culminated with an anti-human trafficking conference held in faith believing that God had called us to do this. It has been a journey worthy of reflection.
Although God met us at every turn and showed Himself strong on our behalf as we dreamed and planned, we experienced varying degrees of stress and pressure to accomplish the impossible and overcome what at times felt like the insurmountable. We were jetted out of our comfort zone and at times felt as if we were left dangling over a vacuum of despair as we stared into the face of local, national and global human trafficking. We experienced rejection from those we thought would come along side of us. We experienced failure as things we tried didn’t work out as planned. We experienced defeat in moments of letdown and discouragement. For a while, there was a storm that hovered.
When the storm clouds burst, fear of failure rained down and we wondered. We thought that we had heard Him but the tempter came to us too and asked, “Did God really say?” and we got overwhelmed. We made changes. Was our vision and dream becoming smaller? All of our calls, and all of our emails and all of our efforts couldn’t put names on Brown Paper tickets. We worried and we amped up efforts and contacts and arrangements. We waited and we waited. We met and we prayed. Finally, we had exhausted all that we could do and we had no choice but to rest in Him.
At first, we couldn’t really explain it but we knew that the Light was coming into our efforts. We came to a place of agreeing that God was God and that He would have His way. We began to praise Him for what He would do and how He would call those He wanted to be with us for our conference and that He would open doors and set all things straight. We became grateful that He would take our “loaves and fishes” and multiply every single effort that we had made into thousands of efforts as a feast was being prepared for those who would partake! We believed that “The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24). We stopped doubting. The Light came: This speaker said yes, that organization is running our flyer, their church has welcomed a presenter, that paper will run our article. We were excited as report after report began coming in showing us that God was working and that the Son was overcoming the darkness.
The day of the conference even the elements declared the defeat of the grim and gray! As the sun shone over Gig Harbor and we all arrived we knew that something amazing was about to happen. We prayed. We scurried to get things in place. The attendees began arriving, the volunteers began to bustle about, the speakers strolled in and the musicians began tuning. The day was finally upon us and we were ready and God did not disappoint! The Holy Spirit was evident as all things came together in harmony and He orchestrated a perfect day. The Word of hope went out to the people and the enemy was defeated. The light overcame the darkness in that place. God was faithful and He had done it.
This conference that we hosted along with Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church on June 5, 2010 was beyond what we could think or ask on so many levels. As God moved that first Saturday in June, people found hope as they learned about a hopeless topic. People were equipped with ways to take action against human trafficking and left inspired and encouraged. We made a footprint in the South Puget Sound community as we took our stand for freedom for the victims of this vile business. We will never fully know on earth what took place in the spiritual realm as we battled to present this conference, but we believe that God ruled and reigned. He has given us another testimony to share of His greatness. He has shown us again that when He gives a vision and sends the call that when we step out in faith He will do the rest. “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.” This is our reflection and our testimony.
Praise You In The Storm
Casting Crowns
I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
