Man, the devil is pissed off. He is absolutely pissed off that I’m letting go of my selfish, self-centered life and giving up my creature comforts so that I can serve God. He’s really upset that I’m telling people about Jesus and giving out prayer cards and talking about the goodness of the Lord. And, as usual, he’s trying to fill me with lies and steal my joy and kill my hope in God’s provision for this great experience that is the Word Race (John 10:10).
Fortunately, I’ve been able to see through his deceit and stay focused on the truth: If I cling to my life, I’ll lose it; but if I lose my life for Jesus’ sake, I’ll find it!!(Matt. 10:39)
Unfortunately, however, many people have been under attack from the enemy as well and apparently they’ve been listening to his lies and his attempts to steal our joy. And as a result, I’ve had conversations with people who tell me: that I won’t raise the $15k that I need, that I’m being irresponsible by quitting my job and moving out of my apartment, that World Race doesn’t have an impact on the lives of people around the world and it’s just an excuse to gallivant around the globe.
Yeah. Can we say, “spiritual warfare”?
So, I want to refute the lies that the enemy’s been spreading. I want to kill the negativity that’s flowing so freely in conversations with and about me. The whole point of this blog post is to spread the truth and basically tell the enemy to shut up and go sit down somewhere.
The Lie:
That this will be just like the Peace Corps and I’ll come home early.
Ok, let’s get this elephant in the room cleared out right quick and in a hurry ya’ll. For those who don’t know, I was in the Peace Corps in 2008; I terminated my service early because it wasn’t for me. Being treated as a 4th class citizen because of my race and gender wasn’t really my thing. Nor was not having the housing and money that was promised to my by the government, but I digress. Some family and friends didn’t care why I came back, they just saw me as a quitter. Someone who squandered a great experience. But that’s a lie straight from hell, folks!
The truth? They were wrong then and they’re wrong now. Coming home from the Peace Corps early was one of the BEST decisions I’ve ever made in my life. And the World Race? Well it’s also one of the BEST decisions I’ve ever made in my life. And I WILL raise my funds and I WILL stay for the entire 11 months because you wanna know the difference between the Race and the Corps? I did the Corps to run away from grad school and see the world and avoid responsibility and ‘adult life’; I’m doing the Race because GOD CALLED ME TO THIS MINISTRY and I’m not running away from anything, I’m running straight to my Lord and the plans he has for me!(Jeremiah 29:11)
Truth #1
I need your help. I cannot do this alone. I just can’t. We humans are creatures that need community, need fellowship, we need each other. And the fundraising experience is no different. Yes, God will provide for this trip and yes, I’m doing everything I can to earn more money before I leave. But please don’t forget that they way God may want to provide for me is through YOUR generosity.
So please pray for me and my trip preparations and my fundraising. I’d appreciate it more than you know. But please also pray and ask the Lord if He’s trying to use you as a tool to fulfill His will. Seek His guidance and wisdom about what to give and when to give it. Ask Him. He loves an honest question. And you might be surprised at the answer.
Remember, it’s not just money that I need. I also need prayers to keep me strong and positive and able to ignore the enemy when he’s so clearly trying to tell me lies. And I also need gear. I’ll be living out of a backpack and sleeping in a tent. There’s a whole host of stuff I need to have by October and so far I just have a tent. And that’s a good start but I need more! If you haven’t been, please check out my World Race Registry and pray over the items. Pray that people would donate them. Pray to ask if YOU should donate something.
Truth #2
This is the World Race, not The Amazing Race. This isn’t a game; I don’t get any money at the end and I’m not doing it for my 15 minutes of fame.
In fact, I’ll probably come home penniless and most people will not care to hear about my stories, experiences or triumphs and trials. They’ll ask the obligatory “How was your trip?” and then go back to the life they’ve been living while I was gone for a year. Will I get to see the world? Absolutely. But it’s not glamorous jet-setting and backpacking through Europe. I’ll have ‘travel days’ that last 68 hours. I’ll sleep on buses, sidewalks and benches. I’ll go days without showering and when I finally do shower, it’ll be with a bucket of cold water and a washcloth. But most importantly, this race is a symbol of the good race that God has set before me to run (Hebrews 12:1); I’m not in control. I will do things that make me uncomfortable. And that all makes me excited because all of those situations are ones where I’ll have ample opportunity to rely on Jesus as my sole comfort and joy!
I’m going on the World Race. That’s the truth. And if the enemy’s been whispering lies in your ear, like he’s been trying to do to me, just remember what I’ve written here and tell him to go sit his lyin’ behind down somewhere! Tell him this:
