All of the world racers this year were challenged to write a blog post about why we are doing the race so we can look back throughout our journey and remember why we said yes in the first place. I know there are going to be days on the race where I will want nothing more than to come home, sleep in my comfy bed, see my family, take a hot shower, and eat some chickfila nuggets with polynesian sauce. I want this blog to be a reminder I can always go back to, reminding me of why I said yes in the first place.
I think one of the hardest things to grasp in this life is that nothing is about us. I so easily forget this, even when I’m asked why I’m doing the world race, my own pride and self righteousness gets in the way and I forget that it’s only about Jesus. I forget that it’s not about going on adventures or taking awesome pictures or being a “good” person, it’s about Jesus.
I have to die to pride and self righteousness every single day because anything in me that is good, loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, faithful, self controlled, excellent, noble, or praiseworthy has nothing to do with me and my sinful and broken flesh, but everything to do with spirit of Christ that lives in me and that has radically transformed my soul.
I’m not doing the race because I’m a good person, because I’m not.
I’m doing the race because of Jesus, because He is the comfort of our souls, our sustainer, the only place where we can find satisfaction and rest, and the darkest parts of the world need him so desperately, and I just want to make his name known. I want to see physical and spiritual healing, hope found, chains broken, addictions overcome, because I believe Jesus has the power to save, even in the people and places that seem too far gone. I’m doing the race because Jesus is our only hope, and I want to serve him with everything in me so that the world can find this hope and satisfaction in Him alone.
According to the word of God, believers are vessels of Jesus, “our bodies are temples of the holy spirit”, and I believe that when we are obedient to His calling, he can use anyone to transform the hearts of individuals and then communities and then cities and then nations and even the world. Revival and hope starts with a simple yes and a willingness to follow where the Lord leads, and we just have to trust the Lord with the rest. None of this is about my effort, but God’s power and mercy, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
I have to fight the lie everyday that the race is about me, because it’s not about me, it’s about Jesus. Yes, I want to grow and learn and experience more intimacy with my heavenly father, learn more about who he has created me to be, and experience him in new ways, but I have to remember that all we are called to do in this life is to walk with our creator, rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances, and to make disciples of all nations so that they too can experience the only thing that can satisfy our souls. Jesus.
When I can remember that the race isn’t about me, but Jesus alone, that’s where I’ll find joy and freedom. In the moments where I’m confused, uncomfortable, tired, weary, and smelly, eating weird food and lacking my much needed alone time, I can remember that our God is faithful and fulfills every promise to us. A life sold out to Christ is our ultimate liberation, when He is our master, we are truly free.
In one of my favorite devotionals by Paul David Tripp, he says “individualism is not freedom; it is bondage. Living for yourself is not liberty; it is a self-imposed prison. Doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, and how you want to do it has never been the good life; it never leads to anything good. Making up your own rules and following your own paths leads to disaster. God calls you to himself and commands you to follow him so that, by grace, he may free you from you. In calling you to obedience, God is not robbing you of liberty, but is leading you to the only place where liberty can be found.”
So, when I’m asked why the world race? I have to remember that nothing in my own flesh and selfishness would willingly leave my home and comfort for nine months, and that is all the more testament to the Holy Spirit, the one that can radically transform even the most selfish and worst of sinners like me into a child of God walking in the light, no longer conformed to the patterns of this world.
I’m doing the race simply because we are all called to make disciples of all nations and to embrace humble submission to our creator, complete dependence on our savior, “the only place where liberty can be found.”
I pray that I would always go back to truth when I forget the “why”, that I would always remember “it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21
The world race isn’t about me, this life isn’t about me, it’s all about Jesus. I pray I never lose sight of the one who calls the broken to himself all because he loves us, and I pray that it would always be about Jesus and the abundant life we have in him that we can share with the world.
Thanks for taking the time to read to this, your support means everything to me! I ask that anyone reading this would lift my team up in prayer as launch gets closer and closer, that we would be humble and faithful servants of the Lord, allowing his power to rest on us to bring his kingdom here. Thanks again for your support!!!
Blessings,
Mallory
