Month 7 is ending soon and I’m sitting here wondering where exactly the time has gone. Wasn’t I just in Lebanon last month? As much as I try not to think about it, I know that I will be on a plane heading home before I know it. Crazy.
I attended Summer Beach Project (SBP) with Campus Outreach, a ministry organization I was a part of at Samford University, in the summer of 2014. SBP provides the opportunity for college students to participate in a summer of spiritual training that prepares them to walk with the Lord for a lifetime. It was an incredibly influential and growing time for me.
I knew things would be different for me once school started in the fall of 2014 because I had realized, especially during the immersion I experienced that summer, that I didn’t want to continue making the same decisions I had been making before. I was hopeful, but I was met with pushback that I was in no way expecting. I was accused of being judgmental when I would choose not to partake in things I had in the past or when I would make an effort to be mindful of how I spoke and carried myself. Those months after SBP were challenging and hurtful, but they helped me grow and remain rooted in what I knew was right.
Expect to be hated by all because of my name, but be faithful to the end and you will experience life and deliverance.
Matthew 10:22 TPT
Fast forward to 2017. I had felt the call to pursue the World Race, but a lingering doubt kept coming to mind. What will they think of you now and when you return? By going and serving in other countries for the sole purpose of following Jesus, I couldn’t help but think that I would receive similar backlash to what I had before, times ten:
Someone thinking I am constantly judging them without me even opening my mouth.
Assumptions that I think I’m better than everyone else.
Judgements that I’m a Jesus freak who can’t have fun.
Lies from the pit of hell that were being used to try to deter me from the call that had been placed on my life.
Through prayer, seeking wiser council and spending intentional time in my Bible, I knew that I must not let the fear of other’s thoughts and accusations stop me from doing what I knew I was being asked to do. Satan wants us to turn against one another, so I have to remind myself that he is my enemy, not those whose words I let hurt me.
I return to America in less than 4 months. I still sometimes worry about how I will be perceived by others. Christians get a terrible reputation of being judgemental because there are people out there who claim to be Christians, yet they spew hate and bitterness everywhere they go. God is our ultimate judge, so please hear and believe me when I say, I have zero room to judge you. None. I am a great sinner and am constantly having to ask for forgiveness. It is the cry of my heart for everyone to know that I have not and I will not judge you for anything.
Refuse to be a critic full of bias toward others, and judgment will not be passed on you. For you’ll be judged by the same standard that you’ve used to judge others. The measurement you use on them will be used on you. Why would you focus on the flaw in someone else’s life and yet fail to notice the glaring flaws of your own? How could you say to your friend, ‘Let me show you where you’re wrong,’ when you’re guilty of even more? You’re being hypercritical and a hypocrite! First acknowledge your own ‘blind spots’ and deal with them, and then you’ll be capable of dealing with the ‘blind spot’ of your friend. Who would hang earrings on a dog’s ear or throw pearls in front of wild pigs? They’ll only trample them under their feet and then turn around and tear you to pieces!
Matthew 7:1-6 TPT
We were in Tbilisi, Georgia the past two weeks and had the best time teaching English classes and serving in a Kurdish church. They were by far some of my favorite days on the Race. We are now in Azerbaijan, where we will be reuniting with the rest of the squad for debrief before heading to Kazakhstan. We will sail across the Caspian Sea on a cargo ship to get there (AHH)!
Click here to view photos from the past seven months.
I love you, I’m thankful for you, I’m praying for you!
Austin
