“Why I go” is the initial question that I think every world racer must answer in making their commitment (If you are interested, you can read more about The World Race and the organization’s purpose here.
Here is my answer…
As some of you may remember from my first sermon, I spoke of a decision I made last summer to go back to school instead of The World Race or a position with Union Pacific Railroad. In making my decision, God led me to read the parable of the three servants, who each were given money from there master, two of which invested their money and received a return. The third buried his money in fear that he would lose it. Remember the story? If not, you can find it in Matthew 25:14-30. For me, taking the railroad job was the equivalent of burying my money. In other words, it was chasing the American dream while I knew God’s plans and my deepest desires were elsewhere. Something I have left unsaid these past 6 months is that The World Race actually felt like the decision with the greatest return. But God gave me a choice, so, I decided to go back to school and get my Master’s degree in Business.
Despite the lesser return, I can say that God has definitely been behind me every step of the way (or ahead of me I should say). I received nearly a full ride to the University of Tulsa and have certainly developed in my faith throughout the past year, drawing much closer to my Father….But, I never could overcome my heart’s desire for The World Race. I tried to push it aside and say that the dream is gone. My thought was, “It is time to enter the real world.” But, in my heart, ministry is the real word. Ministry is my calling.
When I first began to doubt my ability to raise my funds. Matthew 14 came to mind. At the moment, I wasn’t listening….but it came back to me later during our worship time in youth group. So, I finally looked it up. At first, I read about John the Baptists beheading…surely that’s not what God is trying to tell me. Continuing on…next was the story of feeding the 5000 and when Peter walked on water. To me, it was as if God was saying, “I will provide, don’t doubt me or you’ll sink.”
I remember asking God one night (in tears), “What if I’m wrong about going on the World Race?” The first thing I heard was, “How could you be wrong when you are serving Me?”
In April, I will be preaching a sermon on rescuing ambition and how we are all wired to be glory chasers. The main question in looking at our goals and dreams is seeing whether they are “God focused” or “me focused.” As I looked back through my bucket list (yes, I have a bucket list), I discovered The World Race on there. Honestly, I didn’t even remember putting it there. But at that moment, I knew that my dreams weren’t focused on me. They are God focused. Focused on Him as a response to the overwhelming love I have experienced in Jesus Christ.
So I Go.
