Please bear with me as I tell you two, very detailed, stories – one about Jesus and His beloved disciple, and the other about how I was called (literally) to The World Race.
– Jesus & John –
In February I went with a few friends to see the movie Son of God which is told through the perspective of John (“the beloved disciple”). I walked out of the theater, shocked that I had never heard about John’s exile to Patmos or that he was the last of the original twelve disciples to live.
When I got home I kept thinking about how confused John must have been isolated on that island and unable to spread the gospel. A few days later it was still bothering me, so I decided to reread the book of John. I was even more conflicted when I got to this last passage:
(This is just after The Lord asked Peter to affirm his love for Him three times and then insinuates how Peter will later die – )
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against him during the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that He remains alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me!” So the saying spread among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
(John 21:20-23)
At first I was taken aback that Jesus would answer in such a way, it obviously confused a lot of people. Then I realized that His answer was faultless; it doesn’t matter if we understand The Lord’s purpose behind something or not – as believers we must follow Him and His will for our lives. I closed my Bible, feeling the sting of conviction but also comforted knowing that my God remains in control and all I had to do was follow Him.
The next day I was in The Word and all of the sudden I felt this pestering need (aka The Holy Spirit) to know who wrote each book of the Bible. Being a true, twenty-first century kid, I googled “authors of the new testament” and almost fell to the ground –
John wrote the book of Revelation.
In one sentence, Jesus told them exactly what John’s future held (that this disciple would have visions of The Lord’s return – hence why Jesus used the phrase “remain alive until I return” instead of saying John was “not to die”).
He already knew The Holy Spirit would reveal to John intimate details of His future return. He already knew that John would be the author of Revelation and that those visions would be extremely important in preparing believers for the confusing days ahead. He knew this and had planned it before John was even close to that island.
– Jesus, Katie & The World Race –
At the beginning of this year, I was struggling with uncertainty over my future. I felt like The Lord was calling me to missions but I wasn’t sure if that meant staying here in Tyler, Tx or leaving for somewhere across the globe. I was continually praying that The Lord would guide my steps and show me where He wanted to take me; that wherever it was, stay or go, I would follow Him.
One day in March, I was chatting with my friends Hannah and Jen about the story of John and how God’s plans seem confusing in the moment but become crystal clear through reflection. At the end of our conversation, Jen randomly said, “Katie, I think The World Race would be perfect for you.”
In the fall, I had heard about The World Race through several friends but I had never looked into it for myself (which is weird because it is exactly the type of program I felt The Lord was calling me to join). My automatic answer was “No, 11 months is a long time.” I did not give it a second thought.
The next day, as I was stopped at a red light on my way to work, I was praying that The Lord would give me some direction – that He would show me where He wanted me. I looked down at my phone afterwards and saw a text from Jen with a blog link for The World Race. I quickly scanned the article, thought it was interesting, yet again brushed it off.
Later that same day, I was talking to my friend Maggi about the book Restless by Jennie Allen (it shares how God is continuously working His plans through our lives – go read). I had not mentioned The World Race or my conversation with Jen, and I was completely shocked when she suddenly said, “Katie, I have been thinking about this for a while. I really think you should look into The World Race.”
Okay . . .
That night I went online and took the “Do you have what it takes” quiz. I received 90%, missing ten percent because I was still under twenty-one. I decided that if I felt like The Lord was really leading me, I would apply in August after my birthday. Two days later, my phone lit up with an unknown Georgia number; I ended up talking to a World Race rep for thirty minutes and applying a week later.
Jesus is funny. To this day I do not know why I picked up that call or how AIM even got my phone number (I honestly do not remember that in the quiz). However, looking back I can see how The Lord was moving things to fit His will and in four months I will be following Him to 11 different countries.
See, He loves to give small hints about your future – waiting until the perfect moment to reveal how His plan was at work all along. The gift of reflection shows us the beautiful sovereignty of our Father’s hand. It is pure sweetness to be loved by the One who always orchestrates our good and His glory.
