No Such Thing

     For those that do not know, I am graduating in December (God willing), and to be quite honest, it is kinda scary.  Nothing is certain as far as having a job or a plan or what exactly I am going to do. All I know is that I want to get married and I want to answer a calling from God to go into medicine and use it for His glory. That is really all I know. Part of me is unsettled and uncomfortable because I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing in January (or even the next January).
     What I've discovered, though, over the past few weeks is that it is okay to be uncomfortable and unsettled and not know for sure what is going to happen next. In fact, it's better to not know and to trust God fully with your life and your future. Otherwise, you risk becoming so confident that you are doing what you are meant to do that you may not feel like you even need God to guide you or come through for you or provide for you. I know this seems perhaps a little reckless and irresponsible, but bare with me.
     I was listening to "No Such Thing" by John Mayer yesterday and it really hit home. Not only that, but I feel like the song really touches on some of the pressures that are placed on us by society and those who believe to have our best interest in mind. Now I may be way off from what this song is really trying to get at, but this is just what it spoke to me. It begins with this:

"'Welcome to the real world', she said to me

Condescendingly

Take a seat

Take your life

Plot it out in black and white"

     Now isn't this what we are told by everyone growing up? Plan out your life, start thinking about what you want to do, start preparing for this and that. Now, I'm not saying we should grow up without a care in the world and not be responsible for our actions and what is coming at us. But hasn't it gone a little too far? I remember when I was in growing up in school and the teachers would say "Now I know this seems strict, but we're just trying to prepare you for the 5th grade, when things are going to be different."
     And then I got to the 5th grade, and the teachers would say "We're just trying to prepare you for middle school. You think this is hard? Middle school is a whole different ballgame." And the middle school teachers would tell us they were trying to prepare us for high school; the high school teachers would be preparing us for college and college professors try to prepare us for "the real world."
     Maybe you did not experience this, and I'm sorry if I falsely assumed that. But are we not pressured starting our freshman year of high school to know everything about what we want to do with our lives? The college we want to go to, the career we want to pursue, etc.? We live in a fast-paced society that treats the education system like an assembly line, where the end of someone's education represents a finished product completely ready to occupy their predestined niche in society and work right away and have a nice, comfortable salary and life. And if not, we've been conditioned to believe that something went wrong. That it's not normal. That the person made some sort of mistake.
     This, I believe, is an obstacle in the face of every individual born in this generation. I also firmly believe that it is a stumbling block in our spiritual lives and in the Kingdom of God itself. The truth is, we don't have to have everything mapped out. We don't have to jump on a track and stay on it for life. We don't have to decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives and who we want to be and where we want to live. We don't have to and we can't.
     Only God can. And he will. God will call you to be someone. He may do it in the form of a loud, resounding wake up call or in the form of a quiet whisper. He may call you by giving you gifts and passions, leading you to use them for His glory. Our Lord is creative and good, and will call you in whichever way He feels necessary. His calling might completely go against everything the world around you is saying. While the world around you is telling you to aim for a job that will pay really well and give you comfort and security, He may (and probably will) call you to a career that doesn't pay as well but better suites your passions and gifts, in order to better further His Kingdom. While the world is screaming at you to save your money and build your savings to achieve financial security, God may (and probably will) call you to live a humble life, giving the money you don't need to the needy and only taking your daily bread (Proverbs 30:8,9).
     While the world screams at you to plan things out and "secure" your future, God begs with you to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). He wants you to trust Him and fall into His arms and not turn the blessings He has given you (money, family, a job, a house, etc.) into your treasures and your strongholds. He longs to get you to trust Him and praise Him as a Holy God that will never ever leave you empty handed. A God who takes care of the birds, and therefor will take care of you with even greater consideration (Matthew 6:26). A God who will work all things for the good of those who love Him and put faith in Him (Romans 8:28). A God who loves you more than the world and will never let go of you. Another verse in the song goes like this:

"They love to tell you

Stay inside the lines

But something's better

On the other side"

     The world draws lines for us to stay in, but they only lead to more stress and hardly ever produce any fruit. All along, God is on the sidelines calling you to come to Him. To the other side. To something way, way better than the world can ever provide or offer you. He will take care of you and use you to bring glory to Him and establish His Kingdom on Earth.
     I guess what I'm trying to say is that we need to stop worrying about how we're going to make it in the future and just love God with all our hearts and place full trust in Him that He will provide a way for us to succeed in life and in His Kingdom. This semester, I've seen this come true. I wasn't sure I would even be able to return to Shorter University, due to financial strains. But God provided a way through a grant. Doors have been opened for jobs, volunteering opportunities, etc. I am confident that God is watching over me and sending his angels to hold me up each and every day (Psalm 91). After studying the book of James, I have tried to commit to praying with faith. It isn't always easy, but God always comes through in some shape or form. He is continuously freeing me from anxiety and outside pressures, and He is just as present for you as He is for me. He loves you and He has everything under His perfect control.

in His grip,
Zack Akvan

Praying With Faith

     One of the most important, crucial components of a believer's relationship with the LORD is prayer. Prayer, however, is the subject of so much criticism and frustration. Countless Christians (and non-believers) challenge the power of prayer when they don't feel like their prayer was answered or that they received what they asked for. Many will question the faithfulness of God. After all, Jesus did say that if we ask anything in His name, He will do it (John 14:14).
     So why, then, do we feel like our prayers are not answered? That our prayers do not have power? I just finished studying the book of James and one concept I learned from it is the ridding of doubt from prayer. Doubt is one of the biggest obstacles to effective prayer. James states in his letter:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." - JAMES 1:5-7

     When we approach God with our requests, we have to believe that He can fulfill them. Sometimes, we ask but do not receive because we do not trust or believe that we will receive. God deserves better than that! We have to have faith in Him. If we ask from God with doubts in our hearts, we insult His majesty and sovereignty. Before God can fulfill our requests, we have to show Him that we are truly following Him and willing to rely on Him for everything. We not only have to give him our requests, we have to trust him with our requests. Trust requires faith. Prayer needs to be our first response to tribulation, rather than our last resort. James reaffirms the power of a faithful prayer later on in his letter:

"The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up..... the effective prayer of a righteous person has great power." - JAMES 5:15,16b

     When we pray with faith, miracles can happen. We have to have faith in God. And in addition to that, we have to have faith in ourselves. We are, after all, empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit to do all things through Him. Christ tells us this in the Gospel according to Luke:

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." - LUKE 10:19

     The power of Christ is within us! We have the power and the authority to do all things through Him! This is very important to remember. It's said all the time: you cannot love anyone until you can love yourself. I have found this to be very true. And it is perhaps most true with our relationship with God. Part of the reason we have trouble believing in what God can do through us is that we have lost confidence in ourselves. We not only have to believe in God, but also ourselves because we are the vessel by which Christ lives and works on this Earth. In John, Christ reiterates the power we have when we have faith in Him:

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." - JOHN 14:12

     We know that Christ did miraculous things on Earth. But are we ready to believe that we could do those same things through faith in Him? Do we believe that we can do greater things through Him? I know I am guilty of doubting the strength that I have through Christ Jesus. Christ says that the signs that accompany those who believe Him are the ability to heal the sick, cast out demons, and speak in tongues (Mark 16:17-18). Christ has so much faith in us. It's time that we buckle down and believe in ourselves, and the power of Christ within us.
     We quote all the time that we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13), but do we really believe it? Are we moving mountains with our faith or being tossed by the ocean of our doubt? Do not be afraid of anything, brothers and sisters. Do not think twice. God is with you and will strengthen you. With Christ in you and the Father above you and the Spirit around you nothing can stop you. You can heal the sick. You can cast out Satan.
     You can do anything through Christ. And Christ can and will do anything for you. He loves you more than you know.

Medical Missions 2010: Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

       I had the blessing and the honor of serving our God in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. Sinaloa is a nation roughly the size of Tennessee, but sadly only has about 33 churches. Under the leadership of Marco Vallejo, whom we had the awesome opportunity to serve with and live with for the week, each of these 33 churches are establishing “missions,” which hope to become fully functioning churches within 3 years.
       Throughout the week we set up 4 free clinics, mostly at the mission churches. The goal had two parts: (1) to heal the sick, both physically and spiritually, and (2) to attract and invite people to the mission churches who may not even go near the church otherwise.
       Most of the people of Sinaloa cannot afford proper healthcare or even the simple over-the-counter medications that they need. Countless people said to us that they knew that they needed to see the doctor but could not afford it. Fortunately, we were able to give everyone who came something that they could use to help ease their pain and suffering, but it came more and more evident to me as the week went on that it really wasn’t at all about what we could provide these people.
       It was about what God, the Great Physician, could supply them. God reveals to us in Psalm 41:3 that he will “sustain [His children] on [their] sickbed” and “in [their] illness restore [them] to full health.” This is something only the LORD can promise. No matter how many vitamins, antibiotics, and pain relievers we supplied these people, nothing could ever compare to the healing and loving nature of our God. And so, we made it an effort to pray with and for each patient individually and love on them the way that He loves on us. In the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 10, Jesus sends out the seventy-two and commands them to “heal the sick in [every town] and say to them ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’” If we were to minister effectively as missionaries and followers of Christ, we needed to not only attempt to heal these people, but to also make an effort to further His kingdom.
       The most memorable moments of this trip were praying with these people. I prayed over more people during that trip than I ever did in my entire life. Some people were more receiptive than others, but I have no doubts that in those moments the kingdom of God was brought nearer to them. One woman came back to me after I prayed over her, asking me to pray again and also for her son. Keep in mind the language barrier. Almost no one who came through our clinics could speak a word of English, and yet they still wanted to hear us pray for them in our language. Another man, after praying with me, thanked me and my whole team for the work we are doing for God and said (in Spanish) that “a prayer made in trust and in faith and in truth is worth more than any medicine the world can provide.” After I heard a friend of mine translate that for me, I was so overwhelmed. This man had suffered from three heart attacks and still believed in the power and faithfullness of God.
       One of the most emotional and memorable events of the trip involved a man named Salvador Lopez, who came to our triage table with pre-heart attack symptoms. He was immediately rushed to our nurse and given some aspirin. There was really nothing we could do for him except give him the little medicine we had, pray for him, and send him to the hospital. I still to this day wonder what would have happened to that man if God had not sent our team to set up that free clinic at that church. He probably would not have gone to the doctor, because he couldn’t afford it. He probably wouldn’t have gone to the hospital because he had no idea what was coming. God may have saved that man’s life that day.
       Aside from the amazing work done through helping their sickness, another part of our clinics was a “vision center.” Where we provided cheap, simple reading glasses for anyone that needed them. We used a Bible to test whether or not the people needed corrective lenses for reading. It hit us mid-way through the week during our reflection time that some people in this world can’t even read their Bible because they cannot see it. I cannot imagine what I would do if I couldn’t see the word and truth of God.
       This trip revolutionized the way I think about my faith, missions (especially through medicine), prayer, and the medical field. It reaffirmed God’s will for my life and reawakened my passions for medicine and ministry. The gospel may have been written 2000 years ago but the world is still the same. There are still countless sick that need healing and lost that need to be found. Christ calls us to reach out to these people and to fill their needs. God challenges us through James that “if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15)” It felt so amazing to be apart of a ministry that I felt confident was the will of God. I hope to continue doing His will, through missions, my career, my relationships, my entire being.
       I feel like these scriptures, along with what I have experienced in Los Mochis can be applied to the American church. We often ask why there are so many lost in the world when we build churches and invite them and pray for them. God’s word says that we must fill their needs and love on them and get to know them before they will ever accept our messages of peace and truth. The lost can’t be found without knowing God; they can’t know him until they feel His love; they can’t feel His love until we give it to them; and they won’t accept the love we give them until we get to know them and their needs.
       God is so much greater than we can possibly ever know, and it has been a blessing to share with you a tiny bit of what I saw Him do in Mexico. God bless you!


In His unending love,
Zachary Akvan.