When you are on the World Race, you lose certain comforts, amenities, and other perks that you take for granted in America. In Mozambique, I did not have Wifi for an entire month. Air conditioning has been almost non-existent so far on the Race. Street signs, toilet paper, sun screen, bug spray, purified water, ice, hot showers, English and many more items are absent on the Race. There is one item that has been consistent on the Race, Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” is played everywhere!
This popular song from Bieber’s 2015 album has been played in every country that I have been in. This song can be heard everywhere! I remember I was going for a morning run in Malawi. Surrounded by makeshift shacks, dirt roads, and trash everywhere, there was a girl-jamming out to “Love Yourself” while husking corn. What?! The world loves Justin Bieber!
This song has followed me wherever I go on the Race, however, it has not been the only thing that has followed me. Prior to the World Race, I was not walking in light, freedom, or victory.
For over 5 years, I was shackled by addictions to drugs and pornography. So much of my time was dedicated towards self-indulgence, instant gratification, and seeking false intimacy. I was lost and did not care. I did not feel guilty of my actions. I was not convicted. My heart was hardened. I engaged in such behavior until my launch on the World Race.
The Lord prompted me to go on the World Race because He knew I needed to change. I knew I needed to change. I went on the World Race to get rid of my old ways, to finally walk in victory and freedom from my addictions, and rededicate my life to Christ. My heart needed to change. Instead of running towards my temptations, I’m running to the Lord.
Since being on the Race, the Lord has done a miraculous work in my life. He continues to change, grow, and challenge me every day. There has been one important lesson that the Lord continued to place on my heart.
“Forgive yourself Spencer!”
I could hear him say that phrase to me all the time!
“Forgive yourself Spencer!”
The Lord had already forgave me long ago, but I needed to forgive myself. The Lord prompted me to read Ephesians one day. The verse that immediately stood out was exactly the one I needed to read.
Ephesians 1:4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
The Lord sees me as holy and blameless! What?! I could not truly walk in freedom until I was unshackled from how I viewed myself in the past. Your past does not determine who you are. How the world views you is not how you should view yourself.
I prayed every day and asked the Lord, “Why do you love me?” I prayed. He responded.
Spencer you are:
Compassionate
Understanding
Bold
Passionate
Joyful
Vibrant
Willing
The Lord is the One who tells us who we are! I had heard this before in church, but it had to make the 18-inch journey from my head to my heart.
The Lord is continuing to reveal new truths about His love for me and who He is.
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
I am so ecstatic for the work that the Lord is doing in life. Each day, I wake up with a new joy and excitement for what the Lord has in store for me.
The Lord tells me what He loves about me and that is the most intimate relationship that exists.
Psalm 139: 13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Live each day with new joy and excitement. Love yourself because the Lord loves us more than we could ever imagine. And that is a love worth dedicating your life for.
With much love,
Spencer James Belkot
