If you were to ask Cody and me to sum up what the World Race means to us, we would answer with one word: change. Change in us. Change in our teammates. Change in our followers/supporters. Change in the people we meet. It is something we have desired for some time. In fact, our motto for the World Race is “Hungry for Change.” Prior to leaving the United States, Cody and I made the commitment to follow whatever the Lord had for us. We know this might mean diving head-first into situations, trusting Him, even if it hurts.
Long before we left for Launch, I began asking the Lord to prepare my heart for a lesson He would give me each month. This was confirmed when one of our squad leaders, Alys, explained that God had a distinct lesson for her each month of her Race. This excited me.
Last month, in South Africa, my lesson was about waiting to speak until I felt the Lord telling me to do so. You can read about that experience in my blog “Don’t Speak Until I Tell You.” Upon arriving in Swaziland, I began to keep my eyes open for whatever God wanted to teach me this month. It didn’t take Him long to reveal His lesson: do hard things.
It all began when I felt Him telling me to teach preschool for the month. The preschool consists of 40-50 children from the orphanage and surrounding village. The children are divided into 2 groups, so each class contains 20-25 children. One group is inside while the other is outside with a lesson where they can let out their energy. Every 15 minutes, the groups switch. I was to teach the inside portion which requires the children to sit quietly and learn. Did I mention that only about half of them know SOME English? Talk about a challenge!
waiting in line for lunch
There were days when I wanted to help in other ministries. I watched squadmates jump from one ministry to the other daily and wanted to do the same. But I knew the Lord wanted me to stay. It was a hard choice. I knew that it would be better to do the hard thing and have God bless it than to do something “easier” and not have His blessing. So I stayed put all month long.
part of the preschool team
A few days after arriving, another group from Adventures in Missions arrived at El Shaddai. Within a couple of days, I felt the Lord tell me to give one of the members feedback about something I wasn’t even sure existed. I argued with Him about it for a few minutes before giving in and heading down to what was known as “lower village.” I was so freaked out. I didn’t know anything about this person other than what the Lord had revealed. I knew their name only because I heard someone call them by it. What the heck was I doing?! What if I was wrong? What if God wasn’t really telling me to speak to them? It shouldn’t surprise me that everything went smoothly and the information He divinely gave me was spot on. But, again, it was hard to do.
I also felt led to feedback a group of our squadmates one night. They were having fun and laughing. As they were hanging out, I heard a few crude jokes and comments. I felt the Lord urging me to feedback them, but I fought Him on it. He kept bringing Ephesians 5 to my mind, where we are told to be imitators of Christ. Verse 4 tells us there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting which are not fitting. I didn’t want to ruin the game they were playing by bringing this to their attention, but God won… as He usually does. I made myself vulnerable by giving them my feedback. No surprise, they were all open to it and each person came back within the next couple days to thank me for being vulnerable. They felt the Lord speaking to them through me.
All of these situations were hard to do. It wasn’t easy to die to myself. I wanted the easy way out in each situation, but God nudged me to do the hard stuff. Now I am so glad I did. In each situation, someone, besides me, was blessed by my obedience to do hard things.
What about you? What hard things is the Lord asking you to do? I encourage you to die to yourself. Dive in head-first and trust God. Be vulnerable. Be obedient. Remember each of these Biblical giants: David fighting Goliath, Noah building the ark, and Elijah taking on the 120 prophets of Baal. Each of these men made themselves vulnerable by obeying God and placing themselves in positions that if the Lord didn’t come through they would be made to be fools and probably even cost them their lives. Desire to live like these men. Desire to do hard things.
Be blessed!
