It is absolutely crazy to be writing this blog from home. As I sit in my childhood bedroom and reflect on all that the Lord has done in this past year I wanted to share with you how the Lord has used the world race to change my life.
I would say that the main thing that I have learned, that has changed my walk with the Lord, is the pursuit of holiness. I have learned to not settle. I learned to not passively avoid sin, but to actively seek to replace it with good. Because I was able to take a posture of willingness, the Lord has refined and sanctified me through my pursuit of holiness, and He’s just getting started.
I learned to trust the Lord. I have learned to rest in the fact that the Lord’s plan is the best plan for me. Who better to hold my future than the creator of the universe. He is the author of my life! There were many times on the World Race when I had to trust that the Lord would provide. I trust in the Lord’s faithfulness and I know that He is who He says that He is.
I learned to walk with the Lord as my friend. This was a hard one. I’ll be honest with you, I’m still learning this one. Friendship is really important to me and it’s something that has been pretty inconsistent in my life. On the race I recognized this pattern of rejection in my life and the spiral that it would lead me down. When I was in Albania I lost my best friend because of my beliefs. It made it hard for me to trust my friends on the race. I feared that my friendships would eventually just lead to more hurt. But what I learned in this was that when I lean on the friendship of the Lord I release the pressure on my earthly friendships. I get to rest secure that I have everything that I need in the Lord and because of that I get to delight in the friendship of people. I learned to run to the Lord before I run to my friends.
Through all three of these things I found a lot of sin in my heart that I didn’t know was there. I found pride hiding in my heart, insecurity, and selfishness. A lot of these things became super evident as I stepped into a team leader role in the last three months of the race. I would honestly describe my season in leadership as a mirror being held up to see all of the ugly parts of my heart that my flesh was keeping there. It’s really hard to see and even harder when you realize the ways that you have hurt people because of that hidden sin. Which brings me to another thing that I learned. I need Jesus so bad. The gospel is for believers too. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how much we also need Jesus. You don’t stop needing Jesus when you become a believer. I’m reminded of Colossians 3 when I think of this:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:1-5
We are called to put to death the desires of our flesh. This is a painful and difficult process but it is SO worth it. In this process of putting to death the desires of my flesh I am continually reminded of my deep need for our savior. He has given me abundant life and:
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13
You might be wondering what this has to do with the World Race. The World Race creates an environment for you to grow closer to the Lord. You get to live in a community that becomes like family. Because of the World Race I have gained friends that love me and push me closer to Jesus. Friends that will support me from whatever state or country that they are in. Friends that will pray for me. Friends that I get to pray for. Friends that I got to learn from and grow with as we shared Jesus with the people of Guatemala, Romania, Albania, Turkey, Jordan, and Thailand. So many of these things that I have learned I have gotten to walk through with the Lord and with my friends that were chasing Jesus alongside of me in this season. The World Race has taught me to stand on the Lord as my firm foundation and for that I will forever be changed. Thank you Jesus.
