The Lord has been teaching me a lot about the word “missionary” and what it really means.
Growing up, I dreamt of being many things. I thought about becoming an artist, becoming an actress, becoming a writer, but the one thing I never thought I would be was a missionary.
Whenever I heard about missionaries as a kid, I always thought it was cool, but it was just something that I personally would never do. So, you can imagine my surprise when I felt the Lord asking me to go overseas this past year. You see, when I first felt the Lord calling me overseas, my thoughts looked something like, “No way, I am not doing that. Not only would I not be good at it, I just really don’t want to”. I felt unqualified and unsure. I didn’t want to go, and I fought with the Lord for several months (clearly he won).
But, the thing is, I didn’t become a missionary when I stepped foot off American soil. I didn’t become a missionary my first day at ministry here in Quito. I became a missionary the moment I invited the Lord into my life.
Here’s the thing: The Lord doesn’t call the qualified, because if he did, none of us would be followers. The Lord calls the inadequate, and uses them anyway. You see, the mission field isn’t somewhere far away, the mission field is the way you treat your family or how you care for your friends. The mission field can be your office, your school, even your favorite coffee shop.
All in all, none of us are qualified on our own for any type of mission work- whether your mission field is your morning commute to work or a village in Africa. But, the Holy Spirit is within us and the Lord is able to use us. So, I don’t stop being a missionary after the 9 months is over and I return to the states. As a daughter of the King of Kings, my life is the mission field. Each day, every single one of us gets to choose to operate as the missionaries we are called to be, whether that means being kind to a stranger, praying for someone you meet, or buying someone lunch. Ultimately, my prayer is that we allow the Lord to fill our gaps and compensate for our lacking. My prayer is that we live boldly and step into our missionary lifestyles fully and confidently.
Matthew 16:25-26 (MSG)
“Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?”
