This verse explains my team’s experience on the World Race perfectly. Let me explain…
Knowing we were visiting 11 countries in 11 months, we had all mentally prepared to move in and move out of at least 11 different places that we would call “home” for a month’s time. However, we’ve quickly learned over the past three months that flexibility is key, to expect the unexpected, ministry is never certain and when God says “Go,” you go.
In the Dominican Republic, we called our 13 person rooms at Hope Mountain “home” for a majority of the month until we went to debrief and then two cute and quirky hostels became our “homes” for 5 days.
In Haiti, the first week we spent near the ocean at Mission of Hope on their main campus, then we moved up the mountain to Baptist Haiti Mission the second week into their newly renovated lodge for a week, and our last full week in Haiti we stayed at their old housing complex while a new team stayed at the lodge.
Now in South Africa, we’ve spent one evening camping at a campground on the beach our first night in the country, then we’ve primarily called “home” a hostel in the upstairs of a primary school with one week in the middle of the month spent at an UCSA (Uniting Christian Student Association) camp in their cabins.
All of this in combination with the many buses, airplanes, and airport floors we’ve slept in and on thus far, we’ve definitely felt like we’ve had no place to truly lay our heads.
To clarify, I’m not complaining.
Has it been a hassle packing up our big packs 10 times in the last three months? Yes.
Has it been annoying to live out of my back pack while we’re temporarily at a place for a week at a time? Yes.
Has it been hard accepting the request for flexibility by ministry hosts with grace? Yes.
But has it been worth it, being exactly where God wants us to be and seeing the fruits of his perfect timing in combination with our obedience? Heck yes!
What Jesus was encouraging in Matthew 8 as he was speaking to the crowd, was that as his followers, we can’t get too comfortable. We can’t deceive ourselves in to thinking anything is permanent except for him and his character. Jesus is also cautioning that when we choose to follow him, we are choosing to submit to God’s authority. If he asks us to follow him to three different lodging situations in one month in order to fulfill his will then we are expected to obey, no questions asked.
Although at first this may seem repressive, we have to trust that God is good and that everything he does is to demonstrate his glory and is for the good of those he loves. If we believe that, we can confidently say yes to wherever and to whatever God calls us to, knowing that when we’re walking within his will and under his authority, we’re in our best case scenario whether we choose to see it that way or not.
