adjective, of extraordinary size, gigantic, enormous.  This word originated from Gulliver’s Travels where Brobdingnag was a country of giants.

A few weeks ago, Keith and I encountered an obstacle to our missions journey.  It definitely wasn’t one we were expecting and it took, no make that snatched- the wind from our sails! One stipulation of working as an Missionary Associate is that you cannot have over $100 in debt while you’re out on the field. Keith and I have been working diligently to get what little debt we have paid off in a short amount of time. However, we both have school loans due to the fact that both sets of parents were unable to help finance our college educations.  We had originally planned to defer my school loan payments during our first term as MA’s and pay Keith’s off while we were gone. Unfortunately after a phone call to the loan company, I discovered that my loan could not be deferred for any length of time. Thus, our debt amount is now too high to leave for the field by our original January 5th deadline.

The Brobdingnagian obstacle looms before us and there is absolutely NOTHING we can do about it. If there’s NOTHING we can do about it, then why should I bother worrying.  The last time I checked, my Bible still says that nothing is impossible with God.  I’ve come to another realization as well: If we never step out in faith and face Brobdingnagian obstacles, God never has a chance to make the impossible possible in our lives.  Read that last sentence again!

So often we want to live a comfortable life of faith; we want smooth sailing. But we must understand that a life of smooth sailing means we never have to depend on God; He never has to show Himself mighty or faithful because we don’t need Him to while we ride through tranquil waters.  If the storm doesn’t rage, His peace never gets to flood us. Ultimately, we miss out on seeing who God really is.

I don’t want that in my life.  No storms=no stories of God’s goodness and power for me to share with others. If I can’t share His incredible goodness with others, how will they see they need Him too? 

Today, Keith and I are still facing this Brobdingnagian obstacle. Honestly, we need a miracle.  But this we KNOW: God called us to Ecuador, we’ve been obedient, and He will make sure we get there no matter what Brobdingnagian obstacle tries to stop us!