Who am I compared to I AM

There is a time and place for a well thought out and beautiful introduction but this is not one of those times.

In just a couple of days I will be leaving on a foreign mission trip. To say I am extremely excited is more of an understatement than I can fully express. A little over a year ago the Lord began to give me a passion for foreign missions. When we were given the great commission at the end of Matthew it says, "Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and one earth. Therefore go, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) We often do not read verse 18 when talking about the great commission. If we leave out the part about why we go then what are we doing? 

Jesus has been given ALL authority in heaven AND on earth. THAT is why we go. If Jesus did not have all authority in heaven and on earth we would never see anyone be brought back to life through Christ. We would always fail, always be discouraged and honestly would we even be going? 

Education is one of my greatest passions and has been for a very long time. Something that I desire to convey to my students is why we are learning what we are learning. If they do not see the purpose in it they don't care as much, it is a waste of their time and mine. If they see how to apply what they learn and why it matters suddenly there is a passion for learning that otherwise is impossible to have. 

God is our Teacher and He knows how to teach better than anyone else. So He gives us a reason to go and not just any reason but the very best reason. Jesus has overcome the world and has been given ALL authority in heaven and on earth. We do not have to be afraid to go because it is not by our strength or power or might or will that we are going. It is God's strength, power, might and will. "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name" (thank you Casting Crowns) let alone command me to be a part of His plans for the reviving of the world. 

In among all of my excitement for this trip there snuck in a little fear. Some worry, and doubt. The question "am I ready for this?" skirts around my mind. The moment I go to God he replies with, "no. No, you are not but you never could be. That is why it is not you going. I go and you come along me. Look outside, what do you see? Did you orchestrate any of this? Do you need to be there when the sun rises? Do you make the flowers bloom or watch the sparrow? Of course not." I am immediately reminded of Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? tell me, if you know so much. who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? what supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sand together and all the angels shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7) I have to sit there humbled into silence. Who am I that I would be daunted by my limitations. Who am I to think that I would be doing any of this that I could boast of me and my trip. This is the Lord's world and the Lord's work. He is already at work in Peru. I simply get to go and have a little glimpse of it. 

No longer afraid I know who goes before me. 

Praise the Lord it is not I who goes to Peru. 

-Savanah