Over the course of the Race I learned so much about expecting to see God work. I was exposed to the awesome truth behind having expectant hope that he will open doors and opportunities for me to walk through in faith, and having all people and glory pointed back to God. I also expected, in seeing Gods hand move, to see the fruits of being intentional in every conversation, act, and deed of loving people out of the overflow of joy that I have from finding the ultimate joy, which is God. Every interaction I had with others I expected to be fruitful fellowship, usually accompanied by faith-full prayer. If your race or life was anything like my trip and life, these things became common place, and I wouldnt have had it any other way.
These are the things I left the race expecting to continue to live in and see God in. My expectations in terms of God’s part have not changed but by golly have my experiences in continuing that God inspired lifestyle been challenging since being home.
Materialism in North America is strong, there is no doubt about that. It effects Christians and non-Christians alike in far more ways than most people recognize. It constantly pressures me to rely upon myself and the things I can/need to do instead of relying on the hand of God to work. I am consistently pressured to find my joy in things I can do or the things I own instead of in God. But while these pressures have become apparent to me since coming back, I am very grateful! The evidence of these changes are something I did not recognize before and therefore is evidence of change in a positive way.
For example, my days are so much different when I have time with the Lord and when I don’t. The contrast is so explicitly different; nearly black and white. The attack of sin on my life in the forms of doubt and uncertainty are exponentially more powerful when the words of the Lord are not fresh in my mind and when I haven’t spent time meditating on his word and humbling myself in prayer and submission to Him speaking. The opportunity, in terms of time, to spend time with the Lord in isolation was far more widely available on the Race than it is in every day life and the stark change from an abundance of time to a lacking of time has vividly revealed to me the importance of setting that time aside.
The one aspect of the Race that I left expecting to hold onto and that has held strong has been relationships. The Race molded me into a social person that craves community and it taught me to interact with people very effectively. By effectively I mean I feel I am able to connect with people deeply, yet quickly and be intentional about showing them I care. Prior to the Race this was something that was long and arduous because of my lack of humility and vulnerability. I truly believe these 2 attributes were deeply instilled in me by God during my Race and I am deeply grateful because of the positive effect they have had on my life back home. Relationships in the Church and out of it seem to come much easier and are much more fruitful. Fellowship in my personal relationships feels as real as it did on the Race. Maybe not as frequent, but my expectations most definitely were not let down.
One last expectation for the Race was to continue writing and blogging. I have taken steps to make this happen, for I really believe in the importance of spreading truth through social media, as well as I believe in the fruit I have seen come from blogging. In that, I have started my own personal blog outside of the World Race, benjaminpickett.com. I sincerely intend on this blog to continue to share the wisdom the Lord has given me through the experiences of the World Race and in my continued experience serving our Lord Jesus Christ in the realms of politics, government, and business.
I would be extremely grateful if YOU, my subscribed and faithful readers as well as anyone newly reading my blog, would check out my Blog and continue to support me in following, subscribing, and interacting with me!
Again, my blog is benjaminpickett.com
Thanks and God Bless!
