Daily Devotion: 5 Days til Guatemala

Terry's Daily Devotion:  (Interestingly, I just attended a church service in Des Moines last weekend, and the pastor spoke about this exact passage and the issue of being "stuck" in life.


May 29 - Walk in the Light

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Mark 2: 5 "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

By now you have probably realized how important I believe team unity is. It does not matter what the mission of your trip is. If you are going to be spending days in the village working with families, spending all of your time doing children's ministry there, providing medical care, training leaders, working in one of the orphanages all week or filling in wherever is needed, being united as a team is crucial for a successful trip. Trusting your team members is an important part of creating or maintaining that unity. If you need them, you should be free to turn to them for anything, without fear of being judged. And if one of your team members turns to you in confidence, you should be careful with how you handle their heart and their trust.

In Mark 2, a group of friends carried a lame man to Jesus and let him down through the roof. The Bible says that Jesus saw THEIR faith and healed the paralytic. It doesn't say the paralytic could do anything for himself or that he was healed because of his own faith. Your fellow team members can serve just like the friends of the man in this story.

We all have some area of life where we can become paralyzed and we need someone's help.

Are you struggling with a pattern of thinking, be it impurity, anger, depression, despair, anxiety or some other manifestation of darkness? Have you tried to break out of it but can not? Do you feel as if your prayers are bouncing off a brick wall?

There is not enough time on a short term mission to let days go by in this state and ruin your trip. If you are battling something now or if something like this begins during your trip, ask a trusted confidant to pray with you. Know that I am always happy to pray with you and for you for any reason, day or night, any time...and I truly mean that. If you need prayer and are comfortable enough with me to ask for it, please do! I say that because even I have been on trips and become so overwhelmed with anxiety or some other issue for no reason and needed to turn to someone for prayer. Team leaders often get hit the hardest by the enemy, so we certainly need to be covered in prayer. I take my own advice...my personal prayer team never gets a break. We are a team for this reason. God never meant for us to do this alone. His cleansing grace and a victorious breakthrough await when you bring your burdens to light.

I continue to tell you that I am praying for each of you and I want you to know that it isn't a quick daily, "bless our team and help us have a good trip," kind of prayer. I am fervently praying for each of you and will continue throughout your trip and after we return. It is an honor for me to part of your team and I truly look forward to serving with you.

Father, you have chosen me together with each team member because we need each other. I humble myself before you and them, opening my heart and praying that in me there should be no hidden areas of darkness, no foothold for the enemy to take. Help us strengthen one another and to carry each other to you in prayer.

Terry Carr Bracey
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Across All Borders