I walked into the front doors of the Holiday Inn in Atlanta Saturday afternoon with a 39 pound pack on my back and a stuffed pillowcase feeling overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted, only to be greeted and reunited with the most beautiful smiles, a few shrieks of joy, and countless hugs from my lovely squad mates.
I used to have a tagline. I used to strive to live my life like this:
Expect the worst, that way you’ll never be disappointed.
I expected all things to go terribly wrong, and therefore felt more prepared to deal with it if they did. And if things ever went better than worst, then I was nothing more than pleasantly surprised.
This did a few things for me. It diminished my need for hope. It took away any benefits of doubt. It gave me a cynical point of view. It saved me from disappointment.
And now as I sit in my hotel room awaiting my flight to Honduras, I see that I desire the exact opposite now.
If I begin to expect the worst in every situation for the sole reason of securing my contentedness then I selfishly cheat myself and my team out of a faith based joy regardless of circumstances. I must give up the security of expecting the worst. It clearly gives myself authority to protect my own heart against the unknown, which in turn puts up barriers against the unknown plan of the very one I am following.
One of the most beautiful things about this trip is the constant surrender to fearlessly depend on what Jesus can provide. I can’t fearlessly depend on Christ while simultaneously expecting the worst in places He is leading me to!
So I have chosen to expect only one thing this trip. That Christ is coming with! Which is a lot like finding out that failure isn’t possible. Its like leaving on a search for a person and finding out he’s joined the search team. Im not going overseas to ask questions and search for The Lord, I’m going overseas WITH the Lord to give answers.
So farewell America! In less than 12 hours I will be in Tegucigalpa, Honduras at Zion’s Gate Ministries. Please keep me in your prayers, maybe send me a few encouraging emails, and share share share my blog information! Stories are to come!
