Good morning y’all!
I wanted to take the time this morning to address the reason for mission and the process I went through to answer God’s calling for my first step after graduation. Spoilers: If you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame, don’t worry cuz this will have nothing to do with it (;
As a Christian, it could not be more abundantly clear that we are called to share the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice for us to anyone and everyone. “‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.'” (Matthew 28:19-20). Let me make it clear that these verses do not call all Christians to go to different countries or parts of the world to spread the Gospel. Rather, it calls us to share the truth of Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and newly obtained salvation, in the eyes of God, to those we come in contact with. As it states in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
We know this to be what God is calling us to do in general, but how do we know what he specifically wants from us individually? Before I share my story, I’d like to highlight a few instances we are called to listen and obey. First, Jesus calls us to listen to him (God in the flesh) by comparing this action to the intelligent man in his preceding parable, “‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.'” (Matthew 7:24). Again we are reminded in James 1:22 to listen to God and obey Him, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Shortly after becoming a Christian, I was hit with my first moment to listen and obey. An opportunity arose for me to finally achieve my dream of studying and living abroad for a semester in Valencia, Spain. The deadline to apply was a week away and I would leave in just over two months to spend the following five in a completely foreign country away from family, friends, and my girlfriend at the time. I spent the next few days praying and talking to my professors and loved ones about whether I should go and what this experience would look like. The answer from God and most others was a resounding “YES!” in the same form as an air-horn blaring through a ballroom speaker. So, I left.
If you were to ask me when I first returned if the trip was worth damaging relationships and losing my girlfriend, I would’ve simply smiled through my teeth (cuz who has time for feelings, right!?). The truth is I did not understand. How could a Good Father (“Good and upright is the Lord.” Psalm 25:8) ask me to obey and then destroy the things I cherished back home? It was just a few broken or lost relationships, but it seemed so unfair. “I did everything right!” That’s what I kept telling myself at least.
After the summer was over, I was gathering my things to return to school, for Fall 2017 semester, and stumbled across a relic from my youth. It was my old Bible, and it was book-marked to the book of Ecclesiastes with a note that read never forget. “Everything has already been decided so there is no use arguing with God about your destiny.” (Ecclesiastes 6:10). This can’t be. I mean, if God is good and this is part of His plan, then there must be something I am missing.
The revelation was apparent, but the clarity would not be there for another few months. The amount of emotional and spiritual growth I experienced in Spain would never have been achieved if I had stayed. The quantity of toxic relationships I was trapped in because it was “familiar”, or I was simply too blind to see, astonished me. The circumstance might seem terrible on the surface, but God is no jokster. This thing called life is not just one of those shows He turns on the television for amusement. It is as real to Him as it is to you or me, if not more so. So, I implore you to take a minute and truly evaluate that environment you were in with that job you just got fired from, the house that was just foreclosed on, that relationship that was just torn to shreds, and above all trust in the Lord. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
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I was tempted to cut it off there, but I have not yet gotten to the overarching purpose of this post; so, allow me to get to the point.
Going into my Senior year, I was dead-set on joining the Peace Corps and spending the next two years somewhere in Central or South America. After I applied, I began having the feeling that I had never taken a full minute to see if this move was what God had in mind for my first step after college. I took the next month praying and meeting with people in my church and community about the possibility of international ministry. I specifically remember one sit-down with my pastor where we came to the conclusion that this was something I “simply needed to listen and rely on the Lord.” Literally 24 hours later, I got the offer from the Peace Corps to be stationed in Panama for the two years following graduation. I was ecstatic except for the fact that my decision had not been made clear and I now had 72 hours to decide before the offer was null and void.
I spent the next 72 hours praying and meeting with over 20 family, friends, people from my church, mentor, and probably even had a heart to heart with a dog somewhere in there (heheheh). By the 50 hour mark, the people I had talked to were pretty split regarding the two options, but God’s voice was abundantly clear. With five hours left, I formally rejected what I thought to be my dream job in order to pursue the calling that God has given me. When we are presented with a choice to follow our desires or the Lord’s, the Bible calls us to do it His way, and I pray that we all follow suit.
