The end goal of missions is the adoration and exaltation of the man Christ Jesus. We go because He is to be made known among the nations and peoples of the earth. This is the gospel: Jesus. Without Him we would have no good news, because He is the only way to the Father. He is the love of my life. “Seeking first His kingdom,” refers to operating from His heart. How many of us think in our heart, “If only I could get this job, then,” or, “If only I could be able to do this, then?” My struggle is, “If I could only raise this amount of money for missions, then I could really operate from His heart.”
The pattern of my flesh seeks to operate from a place of relying on my own strength. I need a realignment of my eyes on the reality that God is the end goal and not what I can do for Him. Yesterday, Holy Spirit reminded me that He is the one who has called me to do the World Race. He took me to this:
“I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
Draw near to me, hear this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
From the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
Is. 48:15-16
His Word is a sure foundation. Today I choose to stand firmly in His truth and not in the shakiness of my own strength. Neither I nor you, cannot wait until we feel strong, but we must step out in faith. Just because you feel weak doesn’t mean you are disqualified from His call. In the Song of Solomon we see the Beloved calling out to the Shulamite, “O, my dove, in the cracks of the rock let me see your face! My one who has a set gaze on me, let me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet to me, and your face lovely.” Jesus Calls us out of our hiding places to rely on His strength. In Romans 8:15 God tells us that we are no longer bound to our fear, but instead of running away from Abba we can cry out to Him because he will hear his children.
Ever since I was a child I have dreamed of going overseas with the Gospel. I have had opportunities to go, but I would rationalize why I shouldn’t. Yet I know that He is the One Who has called. I believe in seeking His kingdom first. I believe in seeing His will be done and Him receiving the reward of His suffering. Yet fear chokes me and bounds me to the floor each time I decide to go.
I choose to say, “yes” to His strength and not my own, because I can cry, “Abba Father,” and He will answer. Paul boasted in his weakness, and so should I. Papa God, I am going forward with this because I trust you, and because I know that you are good. Even in my weak attempts at this, I say yes again. I cannot rationalize myself out of it again because I want to live my life by your heart and your ways. I know you love me, so I will place my life in your hands again, again, and again as I say yes to your strength and your heart for the nations of the earth. I am yours, so spend me as you will.
