There’s been a longing deep in my soul to see God in the depths of the unknown. I would ask God does your Love go any deeper than this? Then what I’ve already experienced and have been engulfed by? Me just a man, a sinful man weak and weary on this road marked with suffering am still understanding God’s grace, but still, there is a Christ who suffers with me and reassures me that yes, His Love goes deeper. So deep it goes to the point of death to save and endures a road marked with suffering for the sake of the Glory of God. Honestly, if it hasn’t been for God’s wondrous grace, I would have said I’m doing it my way, maybe throw on a little Frank Sinatra in the background and started on in a journey clothed with all of my favorite sinful desires. When I surrendered to God, He ended that, He stripped me of these worldly pleasures and living for myself. God’s Love consumed the deepest part of me by the power of His Spirit. My eyes were awakened to His wonder and glory. I was given a new heart, eyes, and ears and my hunger for God grew. I just knew that without Him is not where I wanted to be, but with Him in His presence, I was always meant to be.
After being captivated by the Love of Christ, it’s like I just wanted everybody to know what freedom it is to no longer be bound by sin but be bound to Christ. All of this was about three yrs ago. I was baptized by His Spirit and have ever since been serving in ministry and in urban missions. Jesus has come into my heart and flooded it with radiating joy and streams of flowing peace. There’s now the light of Christ to be shown, a beacon for the lost out at sea. Christ is now what compels me nothing else but His Love for the lost and captives. Months back in my alone time with God, He would speak to me about going and preaching the gospel to the nations, and I felt a firm conviction from the Holy Spirit saying go. So I asked my Pastor what he thought about it, and he asked me to pray, fast, and seek the Lord about it for a clear answer. So that’s what I did one day on my lunch break at work. I was praying and kept asking God the same question why The World Race God? As I would pray, be still, and wait, there was literally a verse that I couldn’t get out of my head and felt it in my Spirit:
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”
I’m like, Are you sure God? Haha, I know He’s right, but I still question Him. At this point, I haven’t been on The World Race website to even check it out yet, just saw some videos on Facebook and have a friend that’s done it, so I heard a little from her. That same day I went on the expedition route 2022 squad page, and the first blog I saw was talking about Isaiah 61:1. I was like, Praise Jesus!!! That’s confirmation!!
May I encourage you with the following verse out of Deuteronomy. I often forget to recount all the ways God was there to care for me like a father cares for his son. How He’s lead me through the trials and Has always made away, not once has He failed me. I might question and wander, but God always proves Himself to be faithful and to show me that His way is so much better than mine. Trust God He loves you and cares for you.
Deuteronomy 1:29-31
“”But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord, your God, is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.'”
