2 years ago God invited me to embark on a journey with Him. He asked me to give up the amazing life I was living for an even better life. It was hard, but like a young boy who trusts his dad entirely, I said yes. I knew this wasn’t some trip to the amusement park, like our usual adventures seemed to be. No, this was something bigger, I could feel it. I could feel a storm slowly brewing inside of me, a wildfire forming, ready to devour everything in its path.
My Father was calling me out into a new level of manhood. He was calling me into a battle, something fierce. He reassured me that this war was already won, and I was on the winning side. He also made it very clear that this was a dangerous calling, and that I could choose a safer path if I wanted. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, I decided to choose in, and say yes.
My assignment was to claim territory, to allow God to use me to free the lost souls who are unknowingly dead in sin. God gave me a mission, a life purpose, to follow Jesus into the unknown and make disciples who make disciples.
God gave me an undeniable calling to be a missionary. As soon as I said yes, God unleashed a fiery passion inside of me. A constantly growing passion, to live my life on mission with Him as a follower of Jesus.
2 years ago He called me to spend 3 months in South Africa and Mozambique. My time there was life changing. God did some major things in me. I spent that entire 3 months praying about The World Race. I knew God put it on my heart, but I just couldn’t accept that He would ask me to spend a year traveling the world and sharing Jesus. I didn’t feel worthy. Not only did I feel inadequate, but it seemed impossible to raise $17,000.
I prayed for confirmation everyday for 3 months, and on one of my last days in South Africa, it was confirmed. I had an overwhelming peace and confidence that God was about to take me around the world.
Returning home from Africa was hard. I had no money, no vehicle and no job. I struggled hard for about 6 months. Although it wasn’t easy, I remained faithful in my calling. I was accepted into The World Race, and I began relentlessly praying for provision. I did what I could to raise funds, but I was humbled deeply as God continuously provided without me having to lift a thumb. I often wondered why God was treating me so well.
“What did I do to deserve this type of love?”
The truth is, I didn’t do anything to deserve this. The simple answer is that God seriously
loves me.
I knew my time in Africa was a season of training for me, and God used that season to grow me in so many areas. I developed a strong urgency to start spreading the Gospel. My next mission was The World Race. I knew this mission was going to be a fight. I knew God was about to take me into something vicious, something dangerous. What I didn’t know is that I was going to drastically underestimate this mission God called me into.
June 2017 Gainesville, Georgia.
World Race Training Camp
I got sucker punched right in the heart as I overdosed on the Holy Spirit and experienced a side of God I never knew existed. My biggest take away from World Race training camp was understanding that obedience unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit. After 10 days of training I was completely transformed and already feeling a deep love for the squad I was about to travel the world with. I was asked to be a team leader, and once again I questioned my worth.
“Who am I to lead this team?”
“How am I in any way qualified to lead anyone?”
Truth is, I wasn’t qualified. The simple answer is that God seriously loves me.
He doesn’t call the qualified. I felt like David the shepherd, standing in front of Goliath, the champion giant. Guess who won? God did, but he used David to do it.
After training camp I was greeted with trial after trial. I cruised through a series of tests and hardships that would have wrecked me 1 year prior. I was so focused on Jesus and my mission that nothing could phase me.
August 7, 2017
The Mission Begins
I stepped on to a plane, and my feet would not touch American soil for the next 11 months. I was filled with the Holy Spirit and headed out into the world to share Jesus. In all of my excitement and focus, I was blind to the fact that I was headed straight into a serious fight. I was about to either get completely conquered, or become something dangerous. Let me save you the time and just tell you now, I became something dangerous. I found myself, my purpose and my identity in Christ. I discovered exactly who I was, and who I was meant to be.
So who am I now?
What happened to me this year?
What is my identity in Christ?
And how did I become dangerous?
To be continued…
To continue reading check out my next blog, “Part 2:My Name Is…”.
