Hey everyone, This is my first blog and so if you don’t know me yet please take a minute to take a look at my
about me spot on this page. So I am supposed to write about how I was first called to missions. My initial reaction was “was I ever called?”. Then I thought back and wondered what I was called to in the past and what being “called” looks like. So to share this with you I feel like I should share part of my story. This may be long so settle in. For me in my life I can look and see God prompting me to act. I think that is what being “called” looks like. At least for me. I remember being prompted at seven years old to walk forward and pray to receive Christ at a VBS. That is the first time I remember being moved to my core by a Holy God. I can remember encountering God that day and know that He was prompting me to follow Him even then. That didn’t last long however. I grew up inconsistent in church and not in a stable home environment. I remember thinking if I needed God I was weak and rebelled against needing him as young as age 9. I once pursued a life of being a Christ Follower but thought that meant following the rules and that would fix all my problems. When my life was still hard I rebelled against religion once again. Then when I was 16 I went to a church event to hang out and for NOTHING MORE. To make a long story short I found a place I belonged, where people cared about me, and where people showed me how to have a relationship with a holy righteous God. This is where I learned that even if everyone, including myself, looked at me and saw nothing He looks at me and sees someone who is powerful, valuable, and vital to His kingdom. This took me all by surprise and this was the first time God fulfilled a dream of being part of something bigger than me that I did not know even I had. Next came a “calling’ into ministry. I was in my sophomore year of college and had been fighting God on being a leader in His church. It was to much responsibility, to much hassle, and I was comfortable with my current spiritual level. At a conference God revealed to me what he wanted to do in a broken world and how he wanted to use people to that. For me specifically He revealed that he wanted me to raise up leaders so I better learn how to be a Godly one. In that moment I knew that it is what I would be doing with my whole life. I never wanted to do part time or full time ministry but now there is nothing else I would rather do. I love serving in the church and I know that God knew this was a desire of my heart even when I did not. There was never a moment with lighting bolts or thunder. He never audibly spoke to me specifically what he was “calling” me to do. The spirit just prompted me to act for the sake of His kingdom. He prompted me to give up everything I am and everything I have to bring His name glory. Now He is prompting me to act by going on this trip. I love mission trips but have never had the desire to do a mid-term or a long term mission trip and my heart to fight human trafficking has just developed in the last year. I never asked or desired to go on this trip. I battled God. He won. He changed my heart and now I know this is something I HAVE to do. Not because I feel called to be a missionary. Because he calls everyone who is a Christ follower to defend the rights of the afflicted and needy (proverbs 31:9),and to set free the oppressed (Luke4:18). He has prompted me to act by going on this trip. I told God I would go where ever do whatever he asked no matter what the cost. He said go and I’m going. So I guess for me being called is a challenge to act. We have the option to take that challenge or not. Where is God calling you to act? Are you willing to take him up on that challenge? I would love to hear where God is calling you.
