Missions Without Glory

Peace family, do you have a heart for missions, but for whatever reason, it looks like God just wants you to stay here? If so, I want to encourage you today.

Raising a family and working a normal job might not seem as glamorous or as noble as living in a hut in Africa and running an orphanage, but if that is what God has called you to do, then that is the place for you to be obedient. Even though sometimes we compare ourselves to others and feel that those kinds of people earn more points with God through their efforts and hard lifestyle, the Bible actually says that God desires obedience, not sacrifice (see I Samuel 15:22).

I’ve personally struggled for a long time with the desire to go abroad, but instead felt called to work to provide money so that friends of mine can serve abroad. Sometimes I feel left behind, or that what I am doing is not valuable, but that simply isn’t true. God has me where he has me for a reason, and that’s true for you, too.

If you can’t travel this summer, or even ever, remember that there are hurting people all around you. There are needy people all around you. In your neighborhood, at your church, at your gym, at your grocery store, there are people carrying wounds and believing lies, precious souls who need to experience God’s mercy and forgiveness, and hear that Jesus loves them and that God has a plan for their lives. God has designed you with specific talents, abilities, and interests, and those will put you into the paths of others who need to experience God through a friendship with someone just like you. God can even redeem your deepest places of pain to minister to others who are suffering.

What are some ways that you can serve others this summer?  Who are people around you that you can intentionally love and share God’s truths with? What are some ways that you can live out the great commission in the simple place where God has you?

Anyway, just a few thoughts from your friendly neighborhood Kat.