By Sapna Thomas ( a member of NewVine church)

Let me start with my thanks to my Lord for the privilege to share what He taught me in the past year or so as He moved me from Singapore to the Bay Area, a distance of 13,574 kilometers , across oceans and continents . To obey the Lord is something I have always encouraged friends and family to do, blithely unaware of the fact that there are obedience milestones in every single Christ follower’s life and mine was just round the corner. Below I share some of the lessons I learned on this journey.

1. The Lord prepares ahead : Our Lord is a gentle shepherd , our Good Shepherd Who leads us on His paths. I had never stepped on US soil until 2017 when I joined a US based company and started traveling here on business. On one weekend I started searching for a ‘church near me’ and found New Vine which was walking distance from where I was staying. The Lord brought me to this beautiful place of His love and I felt comfortable and at home there. Unbeknown to me the Lord was placing a family around me even before He moved me. On hindsight , I realise our Lord is truly our loving Shepherd, full of love and compassion. He knows our hearts and in His mercy He helps us by placing community around us.

2. The Lord leads us with His peace: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”Colossians‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭KJV‬‬ Right from the beginning, from the first rumblings of change in my department that led to this move to the US, the Lord has been unchanging in His directions. Through all the prayers, entreaties, fears, doubts, the Lord is consistent in His answer. All the sermons I heard, all the devotional I read, they said the same thing. He guides gently, He guides firmly and consistently. Truly ‘ in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning’. Whenever I took steps to move away from His direction such as avoiding the move, seeking other opportunities etc, I would sense a huge lack of peace. Once I accepted the change and started preparing for the move I had tremendous peace.

3. The Lord provides
As the Lord arranged the ravens to feed Elijah at the brook and asked Elijah to go there, the Lord arranges provision for us where He asks us to go. “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” 1 Kings‬ ‭17:4‬ ‭KJV‬‬ . Within 3 weeks of arrival, He orchestrated a series of miracles to provide a beautiful place of stay, a car and everything I needed to get started here

Truly we serve a faithful God. A compassionate and mighty God. And the best place for us to be is always ‘ Be in the centre of His will’ . He is worthy to be trusted and He has the best plans for us. I thank The Lord for all my life.