A couple years ago, I began praying for the Lord to do something radical in my life, to give me something more than the 9-5, to pull be away from the man-made dreams I was pursuing. I confessed to him how both my career ambitions and desire to please those around me had become false idols in my life. I just gave it all to him. I had come to a place where I could not be satisfied with anything less than the best, God’s best, in my life. Right now, I’m writing this outside of Tirana, Albania after having spent a month serving the Lord in Bulgaria, while also visiting Macedonia and Greece. Looking back on it now, I couldn’t have pictured his response to be like this. But I guess that’s how God works. When you truly lay it all at his feet and desire to change, he will use you.
What a serious blessing our first month was to our team. Bulgaria is an incredible country in more ways than one. It reminds me a lot of home in Denver, with its majestic mountains, lush forests, and cool mountain air. Our ministry this month was diverse, and we spent it in three different cities across the S.E. region of the country. We had an opportunity to break ground on the building of the first evangelical church in the region, cleaned out and re-painted a pastor’s garage that had caught on fire a few months back, and helped out at a local home for the elderly, where we cleaned windows, mowed the lawn, sung worship, and just loved on the community there. Another week we played sports, games, and shared the Gospel with Gypsy kids in a poor community in a dangerous part of the city. Some of us even had the opportunity another week to do the mountain version of street evangelism from village to village, through windy mountain roads, to share the gospel, with our ministry host Anton. Throughout the month, everyone from our team was given opportunities to share with a congregation something that God had been teaching them, a testimony, or a sermon. One of our primary roles this month was to be used in this way to encourage the local church. It was in these moments that God taught me the most.
This month, I have been praying that God will begin stretch me beyond my own comprehension. I have learned to be tough and I can persevere through situations, being self-reliant. I think that I could survive this year on my own strength. But God wants more than just survival. He wants to stretch and grow me. You know how muscle forms, right? It rips and heals in order to grow. A little painful at times but it definitely increases what you are able to accomplish. A lot of times God may take us through some hard stuff where we don’t have any other option. OR, He may give us the option to take the easy route, or go headlong into difficult situations. I’ve seen this in the first month. There are times where a certain ministry activity isn’t required, or a host wants 1 or 2 people to share a 20 or 30 minute message to his congregation. Ministry can get exhausting. Living in community can be exhausting. But I have come to a place where my sole desire in this life and for the World Race, is to grow closer to the Lord and be more like him. And one of the best ways to do that is to put yourself in tough situations and watch God show up. Because the cool thing is, He always shows up. When we simply show up and opt in to a full life in Christ, we step into his full presence and begin to see his glory and power and majesty.
So for me, I’m learning the importance to seek out the hard route. To put my heart in the way of difficulty. To let myself get wrecked over and over again because at the end of the day, who wants to get to the end of the World Race with a bunch of pictures, a Tiki doll from Nepal, and an unchanged heart?
Friends, as your brother from around the world, I encourage you to seek out the hard route! Put your heart in the way of difficulty. Press in. Choose more. Choose to believe in His awesome promises. Take a chance on Him.
James 1:3 “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” (MSG)
