Hey guys! Thanks for checking back here for updates on what has been going on in Africa! For this blog post, I would love to share something that the Lord has been speaking to me since last month and is continuing to shed new light for this month! During our time in Rwanda, I preached a message on persevering though every trial we may face and running the race of our faith well. It requires a lot of sacrifice, time, energy, and even financial burdens. However, in the end of all your accomplishments, you’ll find the Lord saying the words “well done, my good and faithful servant.”
In light of sharing that bit of background, I’d like to transition to how exactly we can run the race well. That is the race of faith, ministry, and specifically the World Race itself. Like many things, its easy to start a new project or new ministry each month but within the second week, we begin to realize how difficult the execution of whatever we’re doing is. It’s easy to say that we’ll start a bible reading plan for one year but when we fall upon Leviticus we become discouraged and question why we even started. That’s what happened to me during my first week in Uganda. Not that the race has been easy by any means, but I had finally hit my breaking point. A point where I simply could not move forward without God’s grace. Seeing that I’ve been fundraising for over a year and came on the race to share the love of Christ, it may sound shocking at first. Yet, the truth is we all may hit our breaking points in different moments and in different ways. For mine, it was wanting to run away from Uganda and skip our month all together. Though the circumstances around my feelings might’ve made it more appropriate, God still had this country in our route for a reason. Just like in our daily lives at home when we’re battling with something; our first instinct may be to run away but God brought those trials for a reason. What would happen if we skipped the struggle? We’d never see the outcome of what could’ve been! If we look to the gospels we see that even Jesus had difficult moments in ministry. People disliked him to the point of crucifying him on the cross. What would’ve happened if He’d run away from those that hated him and instead gone into hiding for the rest of His life. We obviously know that wasn’t God’s plan but could we have seen the outcome of a resurrection? No, we wouldn’t have. Which is why I’d like to restate that starting something is easy, but if we end when its hard we’ll never see how that small trial could strengthen your faith and encourage someone else. In my circumstances, I didn’t skip the month of Uganda even if I had mentally checked out for a moment. Instead, I found the Lord through an amazing ministry and place to call home for our time in Uganda. There isn’t a secret formula to doing the World race or the Race of faith well. It simply begins by preserving when under trial, when everything around you is going wrong and all you want to do is quit. 10 months later you may find yourself tired and weak but God isn’t finished with you yet! Finish the work He’s placed in front of you well and in a positive spirit, because His affirmation makes it all worth it!
