If you are in the process of deciding whether to be a Goer, or if you are a Goer but have not yet arrived in country, question after question is probably running through your head. I know question after question ran through mine…What am I doing? Can I handle this? Am I hearing God correctly? Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing? How in the world is all of this going to work out?
Being on the other side of my two year commitment, the questions never stop. But I’d like to reframe these questions a bit. So often, our “what ifs” are about the results. What if I can’t learn the language of my new culture? What if I am terrible in my new position? What if no one becomes a Christian through my ministry?
But these questions miss the mark. Pastor Craig Groeschel said, “Obedience in our responsibility. The outcome is God’s responsibility.”1 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 makes it clear that we are all servants of Christ. We plant seeds (our act of obedience), but God is the one who creates growth.
With this in mind, all those questions about results become less important. It’s such a liberating realization because the truth is that we are only responsible for that which is actually in our control. I can always choose to be obedient. It may be difficult and scary. I will often need to count the cost and choose to be obedient anyway. But that is always an option within my control. Results, on the other hand, are not always within my control. My actions can affect outcomes, but they are not the sole determining factor in what will be. When I place my identity on results, I will always be anxious and disappointed.
So, future Goers, what questions would I encourage you to ask?
What is God asking of me today? What does it mean to be obedient in this season? How can I trust God more in the midst of all this uncertainty?
If you allow these questions to guide you, your application process and time of service will be much less emotionally fraught than mine was. I hope that is an encouragement for you, because being a Goer is an experience that the potential to bring you closer to God than you ever knew was possible and I want that for all of you. It’s hard, it’s scary, it’s all so very new, but He is worth it!
1 Groeschel, C. "Divine Direction: An Interview with Craig Groeschel." Interview by J. Peterson. Bible Gateway, 4 Feb. 2017, www.biblegateway.com/blog/2017/02/divine-direction-an-interview-with-cr….