11 countries. 11 months. One backpack. One tent. One crazy adventure!
In the past few weeks I’ve asked myself “Is this real?!” at least 100 times. It’s hard to believe that in 9 months I will be leaving on one of the biggest adventures of my life! This trip will undoubtedly push me farther ever than I thought possible, and grow me in ways that I cannot even imagine in this moment. Words cannot begin to express the mix of emotions that I’m feeling.
A couple of weeks ago I was at a bible study with some of my friends, and we were talking about the power of imagination, and it actually changed the way that I view a lot of things! For everyone to really understand just how powerful imagination can be, I want to give a little bit of background about the psychology. God created our brains with an amazing capacity for malleability. What that means is that the brain is constantly being changed and shaped by our experiences. Good, funny, sad, weird, and everything in between; every single encounter is shaping and conditioning our brains to think in certain ways. Positive experiences create pathways in the brain toward positivity while negative experiences create pathways toward the opposite.
The other amazing thing about the human brain is that it makes no distinction between actual events and imagination. For example, my brain acts the same way toward me imagining a conversation happening with someone as it would if I were actually having that conversation. So just like our experiences play a role in shaping our brains, so do our thoughts. For better or for worse, they make a big difference.
So why does this matter, and what does all of this have to do with World Race?
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (NIV). So, what are we asking for, and what are we imagining? Are we allowing our brains to create pathways to all the possible negative outcomes, or are we creating pathways toward belief and power?
As I begin to prepare for the race physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually, I am consciously choosing to fix my thoughts and imagination on the abundance of what God can and will do on this trip. I refuse allow Satan to condition my brain toward fear and doubt because that is exactly how he plans to distract me from the goodness of the father.
For the next 9 months, I am committing my thought to mimic questions of God’s inherent goodness, and his desire to show His glory through my life.
Instead of thinking “What if I can’t raise enough money for the trip?” I commit to thinking “What if God provides above and beyond what I need just by the generosity of others?”
Instead of thinking “What if I get lonely and homesick while I’m away from my family for so long?” I commit to thinking “What if I don’t get homesick because I become so rooted in my relationship with the Lord, that wherever He is becomes ‘home’ to me?”
Instead of thinking “What if I don’t see God tangibly moving in the countries I’m in?” I commit to thinking “What if God shows up in amazing ways and my team sees multiple salvations and multiple physical healings in every city that we are in?”
God is good, friends, and he desires to fulfill all of our wildest dreams—if we would only expect him to do so. If he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can imagine, why not imagine amazing things and watch him blow them out of the water?
So my question for you is this: what are some areas of your life that you need to orient your thinking toward God-sized expectations instead of human-sized doubts? Where are you not fully trusting that God is good, and wants to do more in your life than you could even imagine? I challenge you to take a minute to reflect, and then join me in transforming our “what if’s” into expectations for God to show up in astounding, remarkable ways. I promise he won’t disappoint.
