My process of preparing for Ethiopia began in March. Since then, I’ve learned so much about God . . . and there is still so much to learn.

One key theme that I keep returning to is the idea that God is bigger. He's bigger than my doubts, bigger than my fears, bigger than my plans. As I prepare to do something I've never done before, I'm having to trust that God is as big and as powerful as the Bible tells me. 

When talking about God, an elementary word like “big” feels too small. He is all-present, all-knowing, all-capable, all-powerful, magnificent. 

And yet, my fear is still real. I'll be learning to trust God all of my life. This is the tension I hold as a Christian.

Over the past few months of preparing for the trip and pondering God's bigness, here’s what I’ve learned:

• God is a personal God, and yet he is not just personal to me. He is personal to everyone. All eight billion of us. (Luke 12:6-7)

• God is a sovereign God, and he is not just sovereign over what happens in my life. He is sovereign over the lives of people I’ll never meet. (Isaiah 55:8-11)

• God is a powerful God, but his power isn't confined to the ways I've noticed him work before. He is holding all things together. (Colossians 1:16-17)

The town of Hosaena, Ethiopia is 8,335 miles away from Allen, Texas, where I'm moving this weekend. To be honest, that number makes me anxious. But the Bible tells me God is personal, sovereign, and powerful. He is bigger than the distance. He is in control of every unknown. 

It makes me think of a song I sung as a kid in church. "He’s got the whole world in his hands."

I don’t know what situations in your life are causing you fear or stress. But whether it seems big or small to you, it matters to God. He is big enough to care for all of your needs. 

If you’re reading this, I’m praying you experience God’s bigness in a new way today. If you feel led, please join me in praying for the faith to believe God is big enough to cover me and my in Ethiopia, no matter what we face. 

He’s got the whole world in his hands.