The other night I was thinking about what we will be doing on the mission trip. some things people from the Race have said to me came to mind. I remembered how they said that we will be doing a lot of ministering (duh, it’s a mission trip) and speaking to people. A LOT.
Sometimes I’ll randomly open my Bible and begin reading. Sometimes I understand what I’m reading and how I can relate to it and how I can apply it to my own life. Sometimes I don’t understand anything and get lost after just a few verses. This is particularly true if I’m reading a part that has a lot of crazy names. They seem to all blend together and I can’t keep anyone straight.
I started getting a little nervous. How could I possibly teach others around the world when I don’t feel like I know anything? What if I get up there in front of a lot of people and don’t have anything to say? What if I teach the wrong things? So many thoughts were running through my head. The nerves seemed to grow.
But then three things happened.
The first one was that I found a verse that seemed to be speaking right to me. I read it and knew that even though I feel like I don’t know much, I am still being called to go on the World Race. The verse was Romans 1:8.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
That verse reassured me that I am meant to travel the world with my J-Squad (we’ve been given letters now so be sure to follow the J-Squad as we travel!).
The second thing that happened was that I remembered a quote that I had seen awhile back.
God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
The third thing that happened was that I sent a text to one of my best friends. A little back story… We met a few years ago when we were both counselors at Raquette Lake Girls Camp. This is a two month summer camp is upstate New York, right in the middle of the Adirondack mountains, with Raquette Lake Boys Camp on an island across the huge lake. We were both counselors in the bunk Pine. There were four counselors and nine 9-year old girls. I think it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t have made it through the summer if I hadn’t been in the same bunk as Lauren. We have stayed very close friends since that summer. I have been out to visit her in Colorado and she has come down to Florida to visit me. We talk almost every day. Just further proof that God knows exactly what he is doing. So anyway, I texted Lauren and told her how I was nervous because I didn’t feel like I knew enough. Right after I sent that I immediately sent a text saying that I know it’s okay because of that quote I just shared. She texted me back and said “Oh man I’m so glad you said that.” She then went on to tell me how she is learning about evangelism in church. Her pastor said that it’s silly to think that you don’t know enough. No one will ever know absolutely everything. If you know God, that’s all you really need to know. After all, you’re spreading God’s love. If you know his love, you know everything you will need in order to share that with others.
I may not be a preacher, I may not know the Bible as much some of my squad mates, and I may not be qualified. But I know God and I know his love. And that is enough. I will become qualified along the way.
