Today, we went to the local river called the Piave as a church for a baptism day. It was a neat time for the baptism to happen and to see believers expressing their faith in a public way. However, I learned more from my time in the river itself. God challenged me a bit to try and cross the river, and about two-thirds of the way across, the river became really strong and fast moving at a height of around knee to mid-thigh. A few times it nearly swept me away with the current, and when I went to try and sit down in the water, the river took me with it. It wasn’t deep enough that I had any danger of hurting myself, but for a period of time I could not control my path or get out of the water under my own control.
Here is what I learned.
This river represented the will of God for me. When I try to force my will or go against His will, it cannot go the way I want easily. It was a genuine struggle to keep my feet solidly planted and stand, let alone walk, against the current. When we as Christians try to do things our own way, or as God told Paul, “kicking against the goads,” we cannot succeed. If we are to do things the way God wants, we must live as the Spirit leads, not as the flesh leads. When we struggle against the will of God, we struggle with the effort of the flesh. Thank the Lord that the Spirit is eternally stronger than we are and waits us out when we are trying to do things our own way.
However, this is where we see the flip side of the strength of the Father and His will for our lives. When I went with the water and enjoyed the ride, it was a pleasant experience and nothing could have stopped me from going where the current wanted to take me. A couple things to take from this: sometimes, obedience to the will of God will be enjoyable instead of a struggle; God’s will for our lives is firmly planted in the big picture of His sovereignty and He will guide us along it – there may be variations and time delays because of our free will’s opportunities, but ultimately God will keep us on the path for what He has for us. Two connecting verses come to mind – Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7-8. Isaiah talked about one who God would give the key of David to, and then we see Jesus as this person in Revelation.
Isaiah 22:22: “The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.”
Revelation 3:7-8 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”’”
We see clearly that Jesus opens the doors that no man can shut and He shuts doors that no one can open. When we are going with the will of God, He can and will open doors that only He can. No man can stop you from being in God’s will if He has chosen you and called you for a task in His will. You may receive detours or bumps in the road, but God has His plan in mind at all times and He will bring you along further, faster and smoother than you could have ever imagined (Eph. 3:20-21).
This ties into what is going into my life currently. I have chosen to pursue and have been accepted to come back to Montebelluna, Italy to be on staff with the Bible College. The Lord has opened this door for me and He will take me along the current of His will as I pursue this next step. All I need to do is get in the water and He will take me where I need to be. I don’t know if Italy is a country that I will be living in and ministering in for extended time (10-20 plus years for example), but for the next 2 years, I will be here serving the Lord and making sure the people here know the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ. As He has opened the doors for me to come here, so He will also sustain me in the process of coming back. I have wanted to pursue missions for a long time; God has called me into this life and through this opportunity I am now getting to obey His calling upon my life. I need to let the Lord lead me in this way, and let Him take me wherever He may. The river of this calling may be fast, unsettling at times and overwhelming, but ultimately God is in control, He is the one driving the current and He will get me to places I never thought possible (that third one I have already begun to see in this short trial of time of doing missions in Bangkok and Italy).
That being said, please pray for me. I neeeeed prayer. Also consider financially supporting me. I will be organizing a way to donate and support me when I get back to the States. If you have any questions, comments or want to just chat, you can reach me at nathaniel.hibbs@outlook.com or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hibbsey4christ/?hl=en. If you are social media inclined, add me on Instagram to see more of my day to day life as I post photos and videos on there!
This will be an exciting adventure and I am stoked that God is bringing me to this place. Come along for the ride and please consider supporting me through prayer and finances. Thank you!
- Nathaniel