Ponder Anew What the Almighty can do!

Posted on May 23, 2015

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

I’ve arrived in the Czech Republic, and I’m staying with dear friends who have been church-planting with TEAM missions for 6 years near Prague. The last week was a flurry of last-minute preparations for both interns and myself. I wanted to throw a little party when the very last bit of paperwork came in from the last intern! They are ready to go!!!!!!

I arrived on Thursday, and I’ve been able to work from here, and spend time with my friends Dave and Angie (and their three fun and energetic kids!) Today we spent several hours hiking up to this cross. It’s on a cliff overlooking a little village called Svatý Jan Pod Skalou. I loved the rugged wind-torn look of it, and wondered about this cross, existing on a cliff in a largely atheist nation.

Even in dark places, the cross is found- a symbol of everything that brings hope, and life, and freedom.

The view from the top was unbelievably beautiful~ overlooking a quaint Czech village, rolling hills, and fields of flowers. As I stood there, I thought of the cross in Rough Rock Arizona, lighting up that little corner of the Navajo Nation. I thought of little villages of believers in Mexico and faithful in Russia.

It really is so amazing that the love of God is so universally known. The good news of Jesus crosses all cultural lines. I remember smiling at how the Navajo latched on to every bit of Jesus’ story that referred to Him as a shepherd. Today, as we hiked, Dave explained to me how young teens here want to know the serious things of God. They want theology. They want to understand what they believe in great detail. He said that the Czech pastors don’t usually incorporate humor or personal stories into sermons- they just teach solid scripture.

Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how different we all are- and how God meets us in exactly the perfect way for us to understand His love for us and His plans for us.

It makes God feel so much bigger than my little view of him. I thought of how mom, up in heaven with all nations, tribes, and tongues, gets to see such a wide view of God’s love for mankind. I was a little jealous!

As we hiked our way down, blew dandelion fluff, showed the kids how pill bugs roll into little balls when you touch them, and collected pretty leaves, I kept catching myself humming the song “Praise to the Lord”.

ALL that hath life and breathe come now with praises before Him! 

All Czechs, Mexicans, Russians, Slovaks, Navajo…………….

The last bit (I’m not actually sure which verse it is, but the last bit I wrote above) seems like a blessing. I found myself praying these words over our interns, and missionaries, and camp leaders this summer. Over Dave and Angie leading here in Beroun, over pastors and teachers in the states, and on the Navajo Nation:

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

I love that last part: Ponder anew what the Almighty can do

Anything.

Everything.

More than we can ask or imagine.

So, friends, pray with me tonight and the rest of this weekend. Pray that our interns will arrive safely next week and that God will prosper their work and daily defend them here as they serve in Eastern and Central Europe. Ask God to give them vision for all He can do in lives this summer and beyond!

Thank you for praying with me! I will be excitedly waiting along with you to hear of all that He does!