By Nando Herrera
Hello, Life Church! Today, I want to tell you a little bit about myself and my journey in Christ, and how I ended up in the wonderful state of Wisconsin. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, far from Wisconsin. My favorite food is Mexican, which is a shame because there aren’t too many Mexican restaurants in Germantown. I love music, hanging with friends and dreaming about the future.
I didn’t grow up in church per se, but my family was involved in the Christian faith. I started getting involved with a youth group when I was 14 – because of a girl -hey, I was in high school and that’s how high school guys roll. Put aside all the teenage drama, my life started to change in that place. When I was 16 I was given an opportunity to serve in the youth worship band. I thought I was just going to be Mr. Rockstar singing in the youth band, but little did I know God had something completely different in mind.
Being involved in ministry changed my life and my perspective about God. I started learning that it wasn’t about me, but about Him. I started pursuing ministry full-time. When I was 18 I got my first ministry job and was exposed to a tremendous amount of growth opportunities. I faced a few obstacles, but God was always faithful and provided everything I needed.
God always seems to be faithful and provide if we just trust Him. That’s really how I got to the place in life where I am today. But you see, what I didn’t mention were all the moments of doubt, fatigue and insufficiency. I recall so many times where I didn’t have a clue how I was going to move forward or what the next step should be. I even recall moments of financial insecurity. But all those experiences were eventually used for my good. I remember asking God, “How can I possibly be in Your will if all this happening?”
God’s response was always short, sweet, and to the point: “Do you trust me?”
Do you know how frustrating it is to ask a question and get a question back as a response? But I had no choice. The Creator of the universe had spoken. I reluctantly responded, “yes”, and moved forward barely hanging on to my dreams.
Not long after these short conversations I would find that God had prepared a way. In fact it was one of those “do you trust me?” moments that brought me to Wisconsin – which by the way, other than the lack of Mexican food, I am loving. People insist my thoughts will change come February when winter brings her full fury. I will let you know. Back to the point, God always made a way and taught me one incredible principle that I now live my life by. I always share this phrase with any over-zealous dreamers asking the same kind of questions I did:
We have dreams, God has plans. Let the dreams and plans line up, and watch what happens.
We often spend our days trying to map out every detail of our lives, forgetting that God is the giver of our life. I had to learn that at the end of the day, in the good or the bad, in the sun or the rain, God is still good and in control. Check out Philippians 4:6-7 today. That’s a great scripture that always stretches my faith.
Thanks for reading, y’all.
(Yeah, that’s a Texas thing. I am sure you will hear me say it a few times.)
