(Posted on Facebook by my teammate Kayla.)
What if God is shifting gears a little?
What if one day at the tender age of 16 God gave you a vision for your life through about age 30?
What if you wrote it out on a small poster board in timeline fashion and taped it to your bedroom wall?
What if you graduated high school and took it to college with you and taped it to that wall, too?
What if you stayed focused and did everything you could to fulfill what God had shown you?
What if you graduated college and went straight to graduate school, and you experienced your first curve balls?
- It would take you 4 years instead of 3.
- You no longer had the desire to go on to seek a doctorate degree… even though you were so sure that that’s what God had shown you?
What if you earned your master’s degree and worked for a year, but then God told you to stop and go do something radically different?
The “what if’s” above describe my life for the last 11 years. Last year in mid-September the Lord introduced me to the World Race and I thought He was nuts! I knew absolutely nothing about it, nor did anyone I knew. He told me to apply to this insane thing… this crazy insane thing that would cost me a whopping $16,277.
What in the world was He thinking and who did He think I was?!
But what if this was the answer to my prayers? You see, I loved my job but I had a gut feeling that I would not be in the position for very long. So at the beginning of September last year I began to pray about it on my own. Then, in the middle of the month I called my dad and asked him to pray with me about my next move. Two hours later I received an email from Adventures in Missions about the World Race. The next thing I knew I had been on my computer for about 4 hours watching videos and reading snippets of people’s blogs. I thought to myself, “Heck no! There is no way! I can’t do that!”
But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me rest.
So I began the application process but they wanted entirely too much information, based on my expert counselor opinion. So I stopped, but again the Holy Spirit would not let me rest.
On November 11, 2014 I was accepted to participate in the journey. But the work was just beginning. I needed to raise $16,277 for this thing and nobody I knew had money to just throw around like that.
What the heck, God?! Are You sure about this?
But what if I’m really supposed to pack up all of my things and sell most of it and go be a missionary for almost a year? I never dreamed of being a missionary… nothing remotely close to it.
What if this journey is not about me being a missionary and loving on kids, men, and women like Christ loves me?
What if this is a time where He wants to pull you away from everything and everyone you think you know so that He can radically transform you?
What if He wants to show you through the eyes and words of other people who He’s created you to be… even more so than you already think you know?
What if God wants to show you how much peace, love, joy, happiness, strength, and rest you can walk in simply because you are obedient unto Him and you trust Him?
If there are things God is calling you to, listen closely to His call. Don’t write it off as something “insane,” or something that you cannot do because of the money it will take, the education you would need to earn, the connections you would need to make, or because it’s radically different than anything you had imagined for yourself.
Reality Check: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! NOR IS IT UP TO YOU! YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING OF YOUR OWN ACCORD ANYWAY!
Step out on faith, allow God to be God, trust His lead, believe Who He is, and watch Him work it out.
On November 11, 2014 I deposited $150 of my own money into my brand new World Race account. I had no idea how the heck I was going to raise $16, 277 but what I did know was that God had told me to do this. I did not know why He told me to, but He did. Sometimes we won’t have a clue why He’s telling us to do something and it won’t make any sense to us… That’s okay. It’s not our job to know or understand. That’s His territory.
Today, November 25, 2015, I am fully funded for this journey thanks to people from all over the United States, many of whom I do not know personally!!! (And the funds aren’t even due until Dec. 31st!) The people that donated did the same thing I did… They walked in obedience. Their obedience has blessed me and allows me to learn and mature in my personal relationship with Christ, which enables me to be a blessing to others.
What if all God wants is a YES from your spirit?
What if from your radical YES thousands of lives could be radically transformed for His glory?
What if?
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God is Awesome! As mentioned above, based on donations that are promised to come through by Dec. 17th, I am fully funded! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS MADE THIS POSSIBLE!!!! MY HEART HAS OVERFLOWED WITH GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING ALL DAY! I CANNOT BEGIN TO PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH YOUR GRACIOUSNESS AND OBEDIENCE MEANS TO ME MENTALLY, SPIRITUALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY. CONTINUE TRUSTING AND RELYING UPON GOD. I WILL CONTINUE PRAYING FOR EACH OF YOU DAILY.
