Stepping foot off of the train took the breath out of my lungs. It wasn’t the picturesque view—there wasn’t one, it was the cold. We’ve been baking in heat for the past few months, so the weather in this land was a bit shocking. Last week I was lying on the beach and now I’m at the North Pole. I am not a fan of the cold…AT ALL. It was a challenge to maintain a positive attitude throughout the ministry this month, but I had so many people praying for me both back home and here on my squad. My team especially encouraged me to get out of the house, despite the below freezing temperatures.
I say this not so that you can take pity on me, and not so that I sound like I didn’t enjoy this month because of the weather. I say this because I want you to understand where I’m coming from—an uncomfortable place, but desiring to follow Christ anyway.
We met a man this month—a missionary in this place—who was basically handed life on a silver platter. “Everything I touched turned to gold,” and by the time he was twenty he had started two businesses, worked alongside politicians helping them win elections, and was even a commercial pilot. Materially he was wealthy and successful beyond belief living extravagantly and wildly; but emotionally and spiritually he was lacking. Through a series of events he found himself desperate enough to listen to what God was calling him to do—be a missionary. After realizing he couldn’t escape this call he told God that he would have to do it all. “I won’t raise the support, I won’t choose the location or the ministry, and I won’t find a way to do it.” Fortunately for him, that is exactly where Christ wanted him—completely relying on him.
He said he found God’s call for his life and it is not “suitable” by the world’s standards and often even his own. This is where he has been called, though, and he is completely joyous because of it. It got me to thinking. I would not call this situation “suitable” whatsoever, but this is where God has asked me to be for the time, and I can honor Him by making the best of it and being joyful, regardless of comfort. I’m sure Paul didn’t find jail suitable, but he knew that his presence there was necessary and a part of his path. This encounter with a humble missionary made me question my attitude often this month. It also made me look toward this future with new perspective. Christ may ask me to go to a place or give up things that don’t suit me, but will I follow and be willing to sacrifice little, or will I stubbornly resist and possibly miss out on his plan for my life.
