For the first of my World Race blogs, I am starting with one that was prior to officially launching on the race in September of 2014 that even today I see as such an important mindset to have. We all have this choice of whether to give our all, and we must make that decision every day.
All my conversations about the World Race have revolved around concerns about my safety and physical well-being considering the many dangerous environments I will be potentially entering. The news today reveals the many Christians being killed in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Iraq due to Islamic beliefs and tyrannical leadership. Also, lethal diseases such as Ebola have been discovered to be spreading through certain African countries on top of the already dangerous diseases that abound.
All of these issues pose a legitimate threat to my life and yet people wonder why I am still so excited to go and fearless of the potential threats. I can only attribute it to the greatness of our God. Isn’t our God bigger than any threat? Isn’t he more powerful than any disease? Hasn’t he conquered death? And beyond these, God specifically lays out for us that following him will not be easy. We will be tempted and attacked both physically and spiritually. The devil absolutely hates God and therefore he hates me as well and will do whatever he can to try to stop me. Yet, God calls us in the Great Commission, regardless of these potential consequences to share the good news of Jesus Christ to all the world; to every nation and every tribe and every kingdom. And by golly, that is what I intend to do.
If I am taking my faith and relationship with Christ seriously and pursuing God’s presence as well as sharing that love with the world, I must trust God completely. I must trust that God’s plan for my life, whatever that may be is better than my plan for myself. Whatever happens, happens. If I get a disease, then I get a disease serving The Lord. If I get maimed, I get maimed serving The Lord. If even I die or am killed, I die to serve The Lord. Whatever happens, happens because The Lord allowed it. And if I am to take my faith seriously I must completely humble myself. I must view myself and my own plans as nothing, seeing Christ and his glory as everything. Not my will, but the Lord’s be done.
I even find it somewhat odd that I feel so fearless about my calling to this trip, but if God is the God I believe him to be, then I must give him my all. I have no choice but to completely abandon the comforts and securities of this life in response to our calling as followers of Christ and in pursuit of God’s presence.
God demands and deserves everything we are and in return he reveals more of himself to us, deepening our relationship with himself. Not a lukewarm dedication or commitment, but rather a reckless abandon of self in order to share the gospel and bring glory to God.
I desire more of God. Therefore, I must intentionally give God all I am on this trip and for the rest of my earthly life.
It’s all or nothing… I choose all.
^^^
The Pickett Fence