In January, I joined a Bible study with a group of people in my church, reading through the entire Bible in 90 days. This came out to 12 pages a day, or about 30 minutes to an hour of reading. During this three-month period, God began to reveal to me his plan for the next chapter of my life. Specific messages and themes in the Bible stuck out to me, and I highlighted them without knowing what God was trying to tell me. Before long, with prayer and study, I realized that he was telling me to go out into the world and share with others the work he has done on our behalf.
God was preparing my heart to say yes to a kingdom journey — a yearlong mission trip.
Here are the verses and passages he used to tell me to go on the World Race.
Old Testament: the Patriarchs and Prophets
God called Noah for a purpose and he was obedient. After Noah “did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22), God “found him righteous in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).
The call of Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). God also said that Abraham would be a blessing to others, that the earth would be blessed through him. “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, the son that was the fulfillment of God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation in his old age. “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Genesis 22:12). What am I withholding from God? What do I need to surrender?
When God called Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, he said “I have never been eloquent” (Exodus 4:10) and “please send someone else to do it” (4:13). His lack of faith angered God. Moses only thought about his fear and his own ability. He didn’t trust that God would give him what he needed to complete the task. However, God kept his promise to remove the yoke of their bondage to the Egyptians.
God also proved faithful in the desert: “By day the Lord went ahead of the them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). The Lord provides signs to guide us. He used these verses as a sign, reassuring me that he will make known to me the path he has for me. “At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped…Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out” (Numbers 9:18, 21). We know that the Israelites were not always obedient to God, but this example of their trust in him inspired me to watch and listen for his leading in my own life.
While the Israelites were falling away from God in the desert, God said to Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).
God set apart Aaron and the Levites for a special task. “They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn…I set them apart for myself…to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them…” (Numbers 8:16, 17, 19). After reading this, I prayed this prayer: God, take me wholly as your own; set me apart to do your work.
The Levites did not have a share of the land like the other Israelites. Instead, they were given something greater: “I am your share and your inheritance…” (Numbers 18:20). God himself is more than enough. We need no other inheritance: land, possessions, money. The sense of physical security those things bring pales in comparison to the security we can have knowing that God will take care of our needs.
As the Israelites were preparing to enter the promised land, Moses gave them final instructions and blessings. “Be strong and courageous…The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).
When Ruth’s husband died, her mother-in-law urged her to return to her parents’ home. However, Ruth showed love, kindness, and devotion to her. “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my god” (Ruth 1:16). God blessed Ruth for her loyalty, and her attitude reflects how our hearts should respond in faithfulness to God.
During the reign of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, several armies invaded Israel at the same time. Jehoshaphat cried out to God, “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Although not faced with war, this prayer reflected the state of my own heart as I was wrestling with discerning God’s will. God responds to Jehoshaphat through a Levite. “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15). And the Lord did deliver the Israelites from their enemies, just like he revealed to me the next step he wanted me to take.
We all know the story of Esther. God placed her in a unique position to save her people, the Israelites. When the Jews faced annihilation, Mordecai urged Esther to speak to the king on their behalf. “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). We are either an instrument or obstacle to God’s plan, depending on if we obey him or not. Which will I choose to be?
The psalmist says this to God: “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart…I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth…” (Psalm 40:8, 10). More than anything, I want to share the gift God has given me with others. His forgiveness, his grace, his gift of salvation…these can’t be things I take for granted or keep to myself. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10, 12).
“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17). This is a dangerous prayer, asking God to break our hearts for the world. I already feel like I love too deeply; the pain and anguish of others is my own. But I am willing to say yes to more pain, if it also means saying yes to healing and hope.
At this point it was becoming clear to me that God wanted me to go. “That your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations…may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:2-4). “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3). “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation” (Isaiah 52:7).
He wants me to share with others what he has done in my life. “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me” (Psalm 66:16). “My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long” (Psalm 71:15). “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).
When I was wrestling with the unknown, God assured me of his guiding presence. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I am your servant; give me discernment” (Psalm 119:125). “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me…you do not abandon the works of your hands” (Psalm 138:8). “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends” (Proverbs 16:3-4).
God has given me a burden for those whose voice is not heard. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Injustice brings me righteous anger and passion. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter–when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-8).
Habakkuk complains to God about the state of the world, asking why God allows injustice. God responds, “Look at the nations and watch–and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if your were told” (Habakkuk 1:5).
God appointed Jeremiah as a prophet, but Jeremiah felt unqualified. The Lord touched his mouth and said, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). We truly don’t have to feel inadequate to do God’s work. He will equip us for the task he has called us to.
New Testament: Jesus and the Disciples
“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 8:37-38).
When Jesus calls his disciples, he gives them the authority to heal and drive out demons. Then he sends them out to testify about the coming kingdom of heaven. He has discipled them into maturity and reminds them who is really speaking through them: “At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19-20).
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?…In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18:12, 14). If God cares for his people this way, I will too.
Loving others is really loving God. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40).
Do I really need any other calling beyond the Great Commission? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Following Jesus wholeheartedly comes with a cost. Am I willing to pay it? If I am, the reward is great. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34).
How can I not go? How can I not share what I have? “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). It is my responsibility to share the good news that is for everyone.
What else is required when one chooses to follow God? “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple…In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). You probably know that Jesus is not asking us to actually hate our family members. He is saying that our love for them should be like hate compared to the love we have for God–we need to love him that much more. Will I choose to forsake everything for a higher calling? Will I surrender my relationships, possessions, and future to God?
The fellowship of believers in Acts is an example of community that everything in me desires to emulate. ”They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts” (Acts 2:42, 45-46).
After being flogged, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41). Am I able to rejoice in suffering? Can I welcome it, as one who shares in the suffering of Christ?
Phillip follows the Spirit’s prompting, which leads him to confront an Ethiopian traveler who was reading the book of Isaiah, asking him if he understood what he was reading. The Ethiopian responded, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8:31). From Phillip’s example, I learn to listen to the Spirit and understand that the world is starving for knowledge of Jesus’ sacrifice.
On the brink of returning to Jerusalem and not knowing what would happen to him there, Paul says these words: “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24). Nothing we do in this life compares to the task we have to testify to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
“Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5). This verse reminds me that sharing the Gospel is the first step. Next, we need to raise disciples into mature faith. Paul also stated his purpose in visiting the church in Rome was “that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:12). Our mission is also to disciple and encourage fellow believers.
Here is a challenge designed to stir us into action: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15). After reading these verses, who doesn’t feel called to go and share the good news with people around the world?
I need to be reminded that we all have different jobs under the umbrella of growing God’s kingdom: “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:8-9).
The time to go is now. “What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31). God calls us to live free from concern, devoted to the Lord in body and spirit.
What is my job in growing the kingdom? Well, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). I will do anything I am asked!
Paul and Timothy wrote these encouraging words to the church in Corinth: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets made of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). I am so looking forward to the fruit that will come from a year of kingdom-focused living.
And finally, the nail in the coffin from James: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). If I am to remain unpolluted by the world, uninhibited by its distractions and corruption, I need to serve the needy–the “least of these.”
During this course, there were many other lessons I learned and passages that spoke to my heart. These were the ones specifically related to the calling toward missions that God revealed to me.
All references are from the New International Version.
