How the World Race Changed My Life

It’s hard to believe, but my squad and I are almost done with our time on the mission field. In just 3 short weeks, we’ll touch down in America and be reunited with our family and friends.

In preparation for returning home, we have been processing what has happened while on the Race and how God has changed us in these past 11 months. On the outside, I’ve changed relatively little. On the inside, however, I feel like a whole new person. Trying to wrap my mind around everything that has happened is difficult enough, much less putting it into words. But it’s important. Proclaiming what Jesus has done in me, for me, and through me this year is so important.

One of the first lessons I learned on the Race was the importance of vulnerability. During my team’s first worship night, I felt God convict me to confess my sins to them, things I did before the Race that I hadn’t told anyone. It was terrifying, but I later discovered that God used this moment of confession as the invitation for my teammates to step into vulnerability as well. This, in turn, led to some deep and much needed healing. As my forever teammate, Jenna, likes to say, “You’re only as loved as you are seen, and you’re only as seen as you are known.” 

I could have chosen to stay silent and let my fear of showing my team my imperfections keep its hold on me that night. I could have continued to struggle with this sin in silence. But I knew God’s voice. I knew his word said “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16) I knew I needed to be known in order to be healed.

This unfortunately was not a quick one-and-done revelation. A pattern I began to notice was that anytime God was asking me to take another step with him, the lies of the enemy were being shouted within my spirit. All the fears, doubts, and anxieties that Satan could think of, he would throw my way like hand grenades. Getting too close or picking one up instantly meant I was at risk of running away and hiding. It’s a funny tactic that the devil will use; he tells us these lies and convinces us that no one else is going through this, no one will understand, so I can’t open up about it. When the only place these lies can go is inside my mind they tend to dig in and take root. I start doubting and questioning everything. But again, God’s word has something to say about this. In Colossians 3, He says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” God tells us to think about the things of heaven, so that we are constantly reminded of who He is and what He has promised us. If I am keeping my mind on God, then those attacks from the enemy are exposed for the lies they are. They can’t hold me captive when God says I’ve been set free.

As an only child, a big life change on the Race was not only learning how to live with God, but with a team of people as well. I already mentioned learning how to be vulnerable, but I have also had to learn simply what it’s like to be with the same people 24/7. There’s very little alone time on the field and you quickly see the best and worst in one another. Again, these are the moments that Satan loves to dig into. He loves to bring up those doubts and cause division in anyway He can. Something as simple as an offhand comment, a sideways look, or slip of the mind can turn into much, much more. 

Through this, my teams and I have learned how important it is to always assume the best in one another. We quickly came to the agreement that we are all choosing into relationships and choosing love over any division that tries to come between us. None of us are perfect, but God’s invitation says “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) By loving first and foremost, we were able to practice grace and mercy in the face of Satan’s attacks and in turn, grew stronger as the body.

Of course, God hasn’t just been working on me as a person and a friend. He’s been equipping me as a warrior for His kingdom. A phrase you’ll hear frequently on the World Race is “Life is ministry, ministry is life.” What this means is that our daily life and ministry should be one and the same. This was never something I had practiced before. As much as I loved Jesus before the Race and tried to follow Him, my ministry time almost entirely took place within the walls of the church. Talking about Jesus with my morning barista? Telling the clerk at the store that he is loved by God? I never would have thought about that before. But those people I interact with in passing are just as important to God as the youth I would pray and worship with on Wednesday nights. 

The Race has made me realize the desperate need to give thanks and glory to God in all circumstances, to tell others about Him. Romans 10:13-15 calls us to do so by saying, “”For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” This doesn’t just apply to “ministry hours.” By following Jesus, I’m learning that every moment is to be so entwined with Him that I can’t help but spread the gospel. I can’t help but tell others the good news that Jesus saves and offers an abundant life.

Through all of this, there’s one thing that I’ve learned on the Race that is vital in our lives with Christ yet so easily overlooked. And honestly, it’s the thing that Satan wants us to forget about the most. But as followers of Christ, as ambassadors of heaven, we CANNOT disregard the power of the Holy Spirit. There’s a real battle going on in the spiritual realm. Real angels and demons trying to fight for our souls’ eternal destination. No matter how much Satan will try to convince us otherwise, the truth of God’s word is clear. He says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4) 

During this year, I’ve seen spiritual warfare. I’ve seen what happens when Satan is trying to scare us into not following Jesus and I’ve seen the power that the Holy Spirit carries in defeating those demonic attacks. I’ve experienced healings, spiritual freedom, and demonic manifestations that cannot be explained as anything other than Satan’s attack. I’ve gone to battle through prayer and praise, inviting the Holy Spirit to come in and take authority over a space. And I’ve tasted the victory! If nothing else, life on the Race has taught me not to shy away from things I can’t see, and to walk in the power and truth that come only through the Holy Spirit.

Coming home from this year is daunting, honestly. I’ve spent hours praying about this new transition and that God will continue growing me. In this spiritual battle and sanctification of my life, the Holy Spirit has transformed me in so many ways. But I know this work He’s started is far from over. There’s always more truth to be revealed, more ways to partner with God in bringing His kingdom to earth. All the ways that He’s changed my life through the World Race is for my good and His glory. He reminds us in Philippians by saying,  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) The good work didn’t begin this year, but it certainly continued at an exponential rate. I may not know where He’ll take me, but I can trust that God’s work in me is never over, not until I get to see Jesus face to face.