"Don't panic, I'm with you. There's no need to fear,
for I am your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll
hold you steady, and keep a firm grip on you."
I spent the past year of my life (July 2016- July 2017) living in Chicago, Illinois. I moved there after receiving my undergraduate degree, to begin taking comedy and improvisation classes. It was a very difficult year, but a very rewarding year full of spiritual growth and maturity. Moving to a new place where I knew no one, forced me to have to lean on God and trust Him in ways that I never had before. He was there for me before I made a friend, before my roomates moved in, before finding a new church home or a job, before classes started, and before I knew a single soul in the city. I'm not saying that God wasn't there for me before I moved to Chicago, but I had never felt His presence more than I did when He was all I had.
As time went on God began to abundantly bless my time in "The Windy City." He placed me into a loving and devoted church body that was able to pour out God's love when I needed it the most. He provided caring and supportive friends who lifted me up and never let me forget my worth. His provisions were more than enough when He blessed me with the job I was fortunate enough to keep for my entire time in the city. Time and time again He proved that He was going to be there providing for me, all I had to do was trust. As my time went on in Chicago, the Lord used some personal occurrences in my life to show me that I was to move back to Georgia. I was so confused by this because I was finally starting to feel settled in Chicago. I began to question God and didn't want to fully surrender my will to His. I fought Him on having to move back home, but once I finally surrendered to His will something amazing happened.
The Lord began revealing to me that He was calling me into missions. I didn't necessarily know what this meant or how it would possibly happen, but none of that mattered. I began praying about this and through God's direction, along with the help of some friends, I learned about The World Race. From the first moment I read about it, God said "That's it. That's your next step." And so that was it, I began filling out my application for The World Race as I sat in the back of a cramped U-Haul that was heading back to Georgia.
Once I got back home I allowed fear and lies of the enemy to keep me from submitting my application. I continued to come up with reason after reason as to why I couldn't go. So July turned to August and August to September, and then there I was in October. Through all of this time I still felt the Lord calling me to go on The Race, but I just didn't see how it could be possible. Finally one night in October I went to God in prayer about The World Race. I told Him all of my fears and concerns, and why I thought that I would never be able to go. Part of me was expecting Him to agree with me, but instead I felt Him saying "Are you going to continue to flee in fear, or are you going to follow Me in faith and trust My will for your life?"
I must admit that this shook me so much so that I opened my eyes to look around, and my mouth was agape. That night I fully surrendered my will to God's and said "I'm all in!" I finished and submitted my application that very night. It wasn't long after that I found out that I was accepted to go on The World Race, and now here we are. Next October I will be leaving The United States to begin this crazy, awesome, incredible God journey. I get to serve in Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cambodia, Albania, Serbia, Romania, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda. In the meantime though, as I eagerly await what's to come, I pray that God will prepare my heart and mind so that I may fully and completely be able to serve and trust Him. I honestly can't wait to see where God and The Race will lead me as I follow along in faith! I really hope you'll consider coming along for the journey!
Thank you and God bless, Meagan Thompson!
