These lessons learned are going to be short and sweet, so feel free to seek me out to ask me more about them!!!!
1. Joy is always an option. NO MATTER WHAT. We do not find our joy in the circumstances or events of this life but we find it in Christ. It is unwavering, unshakeable, and indestructible. When we hold on to the hope that we have in Christ Jesus and the eternity we get to spend with him we have a grateful and thankful spirit that cannot be quenched.
2. Kingdom Living is a lifestyle, not just a calling. Jesus calls us ALL to live a lifestyle of radical faith. It does not have to be in drastic changes like being a long term missionary, preaching the gospel, giving away everything you own away, etc. It looks different for everyone. BUT it does mean seeking the Lord and His will in everything.
3. Christ-like community is incredible. Yes, it’s hard, frustrating, stretching, and challenging. It’s also the best place you could be as a Christian. The body of Christ builds you up and points you to become more Christ-like. It is a love that is not worldly but built upon relationships where everyone is striving for the same goal; to bring heaven on earth. This year I have been loved harder than I’ve ever been loved in my entire world, and it has totally changed me.
4. His grace is sufficient. This is one of the hardest lessons for me to accept and to allow to seep through my pores. I am robed in His righteousness and there is nothing I can do to take that away. Because of His grace I don’t have to be strong. He works through my weaknesses, failures, and trials.
5. Ministry is everywhere and what you make of it. This is a huge lesson I have learned on the race. Ministry doesn’t mean just you are working directly with your contact. It doesn’t mean you just stick to painting when your “ministry” is painting. There are constantly opportunities that God gives us to pursue people and love them. It might mean talking to the coffee barista and encouraging them, stopping and talking to the homeless man instead of passing them by, pouring into your teammates and loved ones, etc. There are always opportunities to serve.
6. God’s Spirit resides in me. Coming on the Race I doubted this. I saw other teammates and squad mates filled with God’s wisdom and spirit and didn’t think I had it in me. I heard their powerful prayer and never thought God could use me in that way. I saw other leadership styles and thought I could never measure up. ALL LIES. Jesus’ spirit resides in me, through and through. He speaks and works through me.
7. We will always be in process. Sanctification is a life long process, and that’s ok. We must rest in the truth that we are enough for Him while allowing Him to prune and refine us.
8.Do not engage with the enemy and his lies. The moment you begin to engage in dialogue with the lies in your head, you have lost. Go to the Lord, go to scripture, go to a brother or sister.
9. God will break you in ways and places you never expected Him to. You will have expectations of what you need to work on and issues you need to deal with, but God will always shake that up. I went into the Race expecting to be broken for His people the most and what I was going to see on the field. That happened to be sure, but God worked more in my heart on issue that I thought I had dealt with but had just swept under the rug.
10. Trust is a verb. To trust the Lord completely takes action. It takes prayer. It takes repetition. It takes throwing aside every weight and laying it at the foot of the cross and giving it to Him, because He already died for it all.
11. The most important thing you can do is grow in your intimacy with the Father. This is something that I have to remind myself of time and time again. The world tells us everything different. It tells us to perform, to strive, to make money, to look a certain way, to get a certain career, etc. Even as believers we are not free from it. It sometimes takes on something a bit different. We tell ourselves we have to mark off a checklist for God. Be successful in ministry, live a perfect lifestyle, worship enough, pray enough, etc. When it comes down to it that is NOT what God cares about. He cares most about His relationship with YOU. And when we seek him first, everything else will follow.
