I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into.

 
I guess I thought it would be just like any other job transition, or change, or promotion, where you’re given a new title and things shift a little bit. Just a little bit. What I didn’t realize, was that a slight change is never what God has in mind when He calls someone to be a missionary, to live for His designs. It’s a shift in purpose, a transformation and renewal of identity. He wants everything.

 
Being a missionary means living in complete abandon to the will of God. He’s my boss. He’s the One I’m listening for, in all things, now with ever increased intentionality. This was the same Spirit that drove the apostles to the ends of the earth, this apostolic zeal for souls. This is the fervor the Lord desires to stir up in the hearts of all His missionaries, all His children.

 
And what does it look like? Honestly, as grand as it might sound, it’s very humbling. It’s very little. It’s saying “yes” one moment at a time. It’s sacrifice, choosing the good no matter the cost, no matter the inconvenience. It’s the willingness to die to self, to be quiet in order to hear God’s voice or the voice of someone who is in desperate need of being heard. It’s choosing to go beyond comfort to speak a hard truth. It’s taking on new endeavors, even when the path is anything but clear.

 

We are all invited to live in complete abandon to the will of God.

It’s often overlooked because it is humble, but it is the work of God and its glory will one day be revealed. And one of the most remarkable things about living as a missionary of the Lord is that it is freeing. I have been set free to proclaim the kingdom in joy and love. Each morning, I get to look at my day, and say, “Come Holy Spirit – these are my plans. But have Your way in everything. If you want to change what I have going on today, or if you want to wreck these plans, go right ahead. I will follow You.”

And honestly, He wants that from each of us. Not because He’s controlling or micro-managing. He wants our whole selves because in our complete surrender to Him, He gives us Himself in exchange, and in receiving Him, we receive the fullness of life and love that we were made for. This is everything we were created for, it just took becoming a missionary to show me how deep and beautiful such an exchange can be.
I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. But whatever low expectations I had set, they were only a shadow of the gift I have been given.

 

I am His and His alone, devoted to His cause.
I am not my own. I am His.

God has transformed this journey into something more remarkable and blessed than I ever could have hoped for. This is the path of discipleship, of mission for Love in the world, the exchange that we were made for. It is open to all of us.

 
Will you dare to entrust your plans to Him and see what beautiful things He has in store for you? Will you move deeper into His heart?

 
Even if you don’t really know what you’re getting yourself into – leap out into His love, into the life of joy and freedom He is calling you to.

[tweetthis remove_hidden_hashtags=”true”]Will you dare to entrust your plans to Him & see what beautiful things He has in store for you?[/tweetthis]