Prepare for Departure

Vienna is a mere two weeks away and I could not be more excited. It hasn't really hit me until today just how close it is. Am I ready? I want to say yes, but in all honesty I don't know. The adventure part of it, I am so ready. But am I ready to share my faith with others? There is nothing I desire more than to obey the Great Commission and share God's love with others, but I feel so unqualified sometimes. I keep thinking of 1 Peter 3:15, where it says, "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Am I prepared to answer tough questions about my faith? I've been taking a class in theology and it has really challenged me to answer these tough questions. I'm very grateful for this opportunity to expand my knowledge of the Bible. However, there are so many things that I don't know. What if someone asks me to answer a tough question about predestination? I am going to have to trust the Holy Spirit to give me the words to say. This is really tough for me though because my sinful nature says that I need to rely on my own strength to do so. One thing I do know is that I need to dig into the Word more and rely on God's strength rather than my own. I can't be an effective minister of God's grace unless the Holy Spirit speaks through me. I am first and foremost a follower of Christ, a student of the Word and I need to keep that a priority in life.