We arrived in Trivandrum, Kerala on 1 March after spending some days exploring Alleppey and Varkala along the coast. It was a bit of a shock to be back in an unknown place after starting to feel so settled in Kochi. It’s amazing how easy it is to adapt to a new situation and make that the new normal, especially as we were so involved in the church community in Kochi. However, we had been reminded that God had directed us to ‘Kerala’ the state (and not just Kochi the city), and we wanted to continue to be responsive to Him, stepping out with no purpose other than to please Him and no plan other than to be totally dependent on Him.
We were particularly touched by the My Utmost for His Highest on 21 February (titled ‘Do You Really Love Him?’):
“Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realised that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things — things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him.”
We love being totally surrendered to Him and discovering what it is to respond to God for His sake alone.
Trivandrum is the capital of Kerala (although it is a smaller city than Kochi) and is also the centre of the former Kingdom of Travancore, which existed from 1729 until 1949. It has some lovely old buildings, museums and an incredible zoo (which was purportedly the inspiration for ‘Life of Pi’).
We had been given the details of one church in Trivandrum and had found the details of another online, and ended up attending and having fellowship with both church communities for the two weeks we were in Trivandrum. Again we have been amazed by the way God led us to others who have the same heart for God and desire to love Him as we do. We were privileged to have meals with pastors from each church as well as several young couples around our age. We enjoyed these times of fellowship, learning from one another and building each other up.
In particular, we were able to have fellowship with two couples who are involved in an organisation which runs a training centre. We loved hearing about their walks with God and the work they are doing for Him. We also had the opportunity to share our testimony with students at the centre. Because we have no agenda and are not trying to achieve a specific outcome, we were free to be prompted by the Holy Spirit in what we said. A specific example of this was after we had finished sharing our testimony. Alex felt prompted to share about discerning the will of God and that we first have to put everything on the altar so our lives are available to Him. Only when God finds us completely surrendered can He reveal what He wants for us. One individual said that Alex’s additional encouragement was the answer to the question he had been thinking, but had not asked, and we also found out later that two individuals felt that our testimony gave them the answer to find out what God wanted them to do next in their lives. We don’t need to know if what we give and share leads to outcomes, but it is a good reminder to not hold back from others, as God may be wanting to speak to them through us, even unbeknownst to us!
During this time of sharing and fellowship God gave the people at the training centre specific words and visions for us. A few of the things that particularly touched us were as follows:
the verse “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105) — a reminder to take things one step at a time and rely on God, for a lamp only illuminates the ground immediately in front of you;
the verse “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1) — an encouragement to continue to be faithful to God like Abram, leaving our lives behind without much idea of what is ahead;
a picture of how we are like a crystal being honed by God so that it reflects brilliant rays of multi-coloured light to those around us — which was strikingly similar to words we had received from people back in Melbourne before we left; and
a picture of threads being cut and a vine being pruned — that we needed to cut ties with certain things to allow for new growth.
These words and visions were a great blessing to us and really spoke to some recent circumstances we have been going through.
Another significant aspect of our time in Trivandrum is what God has been saying to us about being focused on Him alone - to the exclusion of everything else (especially our selves). In new and foreign situations it can be easy to have concern for ourselves and how we will be perceived by others. There was such a moment on a Sunday service in Trivandrum where we were invited up the front to share why we were in Trivandrum, but Emma hesitated because most (although not all) of the women had head coverings and Emma didn’t. This meant that Alex ended up sharing our story by himself. Emma felt convicted that, in the moment, her concern about what other people might think of her got in the way of her responsiveness to God and her desire to support Alex. Instead of being concerned for ourselves and our reputation, we want to be focused on living for God, because He is the only one who matters.