It’s been 75 days since my feet have touched foreign soil. You might be wondering what the significance of that is. Frankly, there isn’t any significance to it other than I’ve been counting down the days since my feet last touched foreign soil.
I love living in America – don’t get me wrong – but there’s just something different about being overseas. Maybe I’ve written about this before, but I feel more at ease, more relaxed, and a lot more normal when I’m outside of the US. I think it’s because I found myself last year somewhere along my journeys. I remember getting broken in Peru, discovered the power of God in Bolivia, grasping what it means to be a son of God in South Africa, becoming completely empowered in Malawi, and feeling an incredible responsibility and refinement land on my shoulders in Southeast Asia.
I never experienced that here in America. Ever.
And so each time that I get to leave the country, it almost feels like I’m headed back home, that I’m going to go visit an old friend that I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s just good for me to ‘get out’ once in awhile because it reminds of who I am. I reminds me of what I’m built to do.
This morning as I was pouring my cup of coffee God told me, “read Isaiah 43.” I grabbed my Bible and read the first verse. It really stuck out at me. Here’s what it says:
But now, this is what the LORD says
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
It’s comforting to know that the Lord claims me, but I find this so interesting: he formed Israel. See God created Jacob, but then He wrestled with him down by the river one night, left him with a limp and gave him a new name: Israel (Gen. 32). From that moment on Jacob walked with a new identity. There was a mark (a limp) to remind him of who he had become. He was now God’s.
I 
find it amazing how God forms us. Oftentimes it’s really painful, but there are little reminders. Jacob’s was a limp. Sometimes I think mine’s a restlessness – God’s way of reminding me that I don’t really belong here, that my reality is a superior reality, that my home is a superior home, that my inheritance is what I wake up to and fight for on a daily basis.
find it amazing how God forms us. Oftentimes it’s really painful, but there are little reminders. Jacob’s was a limp. Sometimes I think mine’s a restlessness – God’s way of reminding me that I don’t really belong here, that my reality is a superior reality, that my home is a superior home, that my inheritance is what I wake up to and fight for on a daily basis. God created Matt, but He has formed Matthew. He’s still growing me and I’m still being reminded daily about who I really am, what I’ve been transformed to do. And I know this with confidence because my Father has redeemed me, He has summoned me by name, and claimed me as His own.
So every time that I get to travel outside of these borders I’m reminded of something very special to me.
Your prayers will be coveted as I travel to Romania! I’ll be attending the First Annual World Race Conference called “The Awakening”. It’s three days of Spirit-filled teaching, activation, and empowerment for current World Racers and Alumni. I’ll be helping out with worship. Pray that the Spirit of God falls and that the supernatural becomes normal to our every day lives! Why? Because I’m God’s now… and what is normal in the Kingdom is abnormal in this world, and that abnormal is gradually becoming what is normal to me. We’re called to live differently in this world! Pray that I continue to do so!
