Written by Liliana Henríquez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colombia
In the previous blog post, I told you that sometimes there are situations or people that we turn into idols that end up occupying God's place in our hearts, our minds, and even our agenda. That's a serious mistake! As Christians, our priority should be God and following Him, not other things.
I am very fond of remembering the promise in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV). God promises us that if we seek Him, He is faithful to give us what we need. The challenge is to understand that the peace and joy that God offers us is far greater than that offered by the world. It is also important to remind ourselves that we need God's support to be able to cope with life's challenges—not something we can do with our own strength.
A job, a husband, children... they will never be able to fill the space that only God can fill.
In June 2023, I received an invitation to support a mission project in another country for a couple of weeks. That really got me excited! However, there was a "small" problem... my passport was expired. What a great frustration! However, I remember that Matthew 6:31-33 came to my mind and gave me strength. I like how it appears in the Easy-to-Read Version:
Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. (ERV, emphasis added)
A relevant fact that I must share is that I am Venezuelan and I live in Colombia. At that time, there was no Venezuelan consulate in all of Colombia, so the only way to get the passport was to go to Venezuela, stay for a month or two there until my passport was ready, and come back. And that definitely wasn't an option for me.
So I, in my conversations with God, asked Him: How am I going to get my passport if there hasn't been a consulate in Colombia for five years?
I answered myself, based on verse 32: Liliana, only those who do not know God try to achieve these things by their own means. Take it easy.
That same month, the first Venezuelan consulate in Colombia opened its doors (Miracle 1). It was located in the city of Cúcuta, which is 16 hours by bus from Bogotá (where I live). I got my appointment very quickly and without difficulty (Miracle 2). I went in August and the whole process was successful. Now all that was left was to hand over the passport. Since the consulate had just started operations, they had not enabled the option of sending the new passport to other cities. So as soon as I was notified that the passport was already printed, I traveled to Cúcuta again to pick it up. In October, I returned home happy with my new passport, ready to be used (Miracle 3).
On that occasion, I confirmed once again that when we obey God, He takes care of providing and opening doors that may have been closed for years. All He asks of us is that we truly commit to Him and make Him our priority.