3. Who and How

My prayers during this past year have been saturated with requests for direction and clarity. I contemplated until I became practically consumed with the choices and decisions ahead. Anytime anyone asked me for a prayer request, it was about that. Prayer letter updates included that. My own private and public prayer life revolved around that. 

Where should I go? 

When will I go? 

What will I do? 

On one particular day of fasting and prayer, the Lord revealed how preoccupied I had become with the where, when, and what. I had completely neglected the who and how. 

In a moment of stillness before him, he taught me that the direction he wanted to give me dealt less with the where, when, and what, and more with the who and the how. The “who” is the Lord Jesus Christ and the “how” is how to serve and obey him wherever I end up and in whatever I end up doing. 

I began to learn that following Christ and doing missions is less about geographical location and more about obedience in the place you are given with the people you are given. 

The Bible teaches us a whole lot about how we are to live regardless of where we choose to live. Jesus taught us how to love God, love our neighbor, preach the gospel, befriend the marginalized, forgive our enemies, obey all of God’s commandments, and make disciples. Then he told us to go into all the world and do it. Notice that no further clarity was given, except perhaps in Acts 1 when Jesus tells the disciples that they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth...so basically everywhere. There seems to be an intentional lack of specific detail there.  And maybe because it wasn’t needed. Because Jesus already gave us what we need. 

Funny how we worry over the details that Jesus didn’t give, making us blind to the paths he did give us to follow. He gave us the who and how, and he graciously allows us to choose the what, when, and where. 

When we know the who and how, the what/when/where become less stressful.