In All Things, Trust God

By Gracie Kinsey

God is good, all the time, and all the time God is good. My name is Gracie Kinsey and I am an intern with Children’s Bible Ministries in Townsend, TN. I am going to share with you today the ways that God has been faithful and sovereign in guiding me to the CBM internship program. 

In the summer of 2014, my close friend, named Ashlee, invited me to a summer camp called Camp Gilead in Polk City, Florida. I didn’t know it at the time but Camp Gilead is currently one of many CBM camps. Timidly, but willingly, I accepted her invitation and had one of the best weeks of my life as a camper at Gilead. I was grateful that she introduced me to such a wonderful and special place where I could meet new friends, be pushed out of my comfort zone, and grow closer to God. And it made me want to come back the next summer! For three summers, I attended Camp Gilead as a camper. In the summer of 2016, the head counselor of Gilead personally asked me to be a junior counselor for one week during the summer, to see if I liked it. Shocker, I loved it. I returned to Gilead every year after that as a junior counselor and, eventually, a senior counselor. 

Little did I know, God had divinely planned for me to go to this camp as a child, so that one day much later I would become involved with the organization of CBM. Going into my senior of high school, I was very anxious and unsure of what I was going to do once I graduated. I applied to several colleges, looked into getting an apartment, and panicked because none of these things seemed right. But God knew where I would be going. In one of my past summers working at Camp Gilead, I heard about the internship program that CBM offers. My senior counselor, Katlyn, actually got accepted the week that I was in her cabin! For some reason that I’m not quite sure, God really laid this program on my heart throughout my entire senior year of high school. I got accepted into the college of my choice, but every time I thought about attending the school, I did not have peace in my heart about it. I knew deep down where I was supposed to go. One very hard night, I got down on my knees in my room and asked God, “What do you want me to do Lord? My life is yours.” He told me very clearly that He wanted me to spend a year of my life serving as an intern with CBM. And I never looked back after that.

However, there was much opposition to my new decision. “Don’t you wanna start college?” “You’ll forget everything you learned in high school if you take a year off!” “Won’t you lose your scholarship?” “How do you know you’re even going to like the internship?” At first, I didn’t have an answer for many of those questions. But I quickly learned that God had it already figured out. We were able to get a two-year extension for my scholarship so that I could attend the internship, and I discovered that the internship offered many life skills and experience I would need before going to college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and still don’t! The internship would help me explore many different areas of ministry and narrow my focus to one specific field. Though I, myself, had my doubts and questions, the Bible promises, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:8) 

Romans 2:6-7 reads that “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” There was one point in my journey where not even my parents thought the internship was the smartest idea for me. But “My thoughts are not your thoughts” says the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8) After weeks of prayer, my parents talked with me again and said that the Lord had laid the internship on their hearts, as well, and they fully supported me going! It wasn’t up to me to convince them that this was where God wanted me, God took care of that Himself. 

Now that I have been an intern for almost four months, it has uncovered so many reasons why the internship was in God’s will for my life. Some of those things include finding an amazing church; narrowing my passion to work with teenagers, specifically; building a routine of prayer time with God every morning; and being surrounded by like-minded Christians so I can be grounded in my faith in preparation for the real world. If I had not listened to God’s calling and attempted to go to college instead, I would have ended up going to a secular university, which I know now is not the path for me. I probably would have been easily swayed in my beliefs, as well. But Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; but do it with gentleness and respect.” The internship has provided me many life, communication, and people skills that have helped prepare me for whatever my next step in life will be. 

Trusting God and taking a step of faith towards the CBM Internship has taught me one big and important lesson for the future: Always trust God with your plans. A verse that is easier said than done is found in Proverbs 16:9, it says that “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” No matter where the Lord directs my heart after the internship is done, I have learned to obey my all-knowing God rather than my fickle mind. God has taught me so much during the process of the internship and I can’t wait to learn about all that He has in store for me in the next eight months. 

To learn more about the CBM Internship program go to our website: https://childrensbibleministries.net/internships or contact our Intern Coordinator at Jacqueatcbm@gmail.com.

Visits: 121