Fisher of Men

Hello, friend! My squad is now heading into our fifth week in Thailand.

Over the last 30 days living on mission, my team has taught English; prayer walked; evangelized to kids/teens, tourists, and young adults at two different universities; interceded over our ministry, the local communities, over the nation of Thailand, and the workers that God has called here; fed the homeless; participated and helped run a frisbee outreach event for the Christian Clubs at two universities; attended and served at local churches; and has done all that we are able to shine light and speak love everywhere we go.

Through our ministry, the Lord has opened our eyes and broken our hearts for the Thai people. He has revealed how much His heart aches for them. How grieved He is over the generations that are and those that were who have fallen victim to idol worship. His heart yearns for them. To renew their hope, to breathe new life and salvation upon them, to deliver them, to love them and be loved and known by them, and to free them from the bondage that has held generations.

It is so evident that the Lord is pursuing this nation and that He has claimed them for His own! 

Every single minute of every day and in every interaction that we have, I am just in awe of the depth of His love and how the Lord pursues each and every person on this earth in such unique and individual ways!

What an amazing God we serve!

Living on mission has made me encounter the Lord’s intentionality on a new level. Not only has He used the opportunities that we’ve had to minister to others, but He’s also used them to minister and teach me and my team as well.

This leads me to what the Lord has weighed on my heart to share with you.

Since being on the Race, God has really forced me to confront old patterns that are hindering my relationship with Him and His will for my life.

For as long as I can remember, I have allowed fear, doubt, and feelings of inadequacy/comparison to dictate my yes to God. Over the last two years, the Lord has been gradually setting me free from those chains and lies that kept me bound and replacing them with His truth.

One of the biggest patterns He has highlighted over the last month and a half is disqualification.

I don’t exactly remember how it started, but somewhere along the way in my walk, I became convinced that God could not use or speak to me in the same ways that He used and spoke to others. Because of that, a rotten lie took root in my life, and I operated as though God was not capable of working through my weaknesses and as if He was not aware that I possessed them.

Kingdom opportunity after opportunity came, and each was deflected with weak excuses that I disqualified myself with. These excuses ranged, but some of them sounded like the following:

• I don’t have the right personality or skill set to serve in that capacity.
• I’m good at fading into the background, and that’s where I belong.
• I’m not good at talking to people, and I’m not personable enough.
• God could never do that thing He did in and through that person, in and through me.
• I don’t know what to say, and I’m not good at praying out loud.
• I don’t know enough about the Bible or God.
• I’m not capable of _______ and I never will be.

How ridiculous is that?!

As if the God that we serve is subject to human limitation!

As if He did not factor in our strengths and weaknesses when He brought the opportunity to us!

As if the God we serve lacks intentionality in His creations!

As if He is not with us every single step of the way!

The following two verses really convicted me of this:

“On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God and dares defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does the Potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump of clay one object for honorable use and another for common use? And what if He has done so to make known the riches of His glory to the objects of His mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory.”

Romans 9:20-21, 23

“Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I am not a man of words (eloquent, fluent), neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, or the seeing or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and will teach you what you shall say.”

Exodus 4:10-12

The truth is, there is no one way to be a child of God and to serve His kingdom. Our walks and relationships with Him are going to be different than those around us because we’re different people, and that’s okay!

Each of us carries a unique thumbprint of the Lord. He made us exactly as He desired with a unique ability to reflect a piece of Him earthside! (1 Corinthians 12:13-27)

You aren’t the way that you are by mistake!

You aren’t the way you are because you are defective!

God created every single person on this earth with extreme intentionality for purpose! Our talents, skill sets, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses are all ordained by Him!

We do not possess or lack a single thing that we were not meant to!  

Please don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that growth and transformation are not important or necessary or something that we shouldn’t seek out, but rather that our weaknesses and perceived imperfections should not be a reason or excuse for us to say no to an opportunity to serve, honor, and glorify our Creator and further His kingdom. 

In fact, it even says in scripture that His grace is sufficient for us AND that His power is made perfect in our weakness!!! (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Paul even goes as far as to say that because of that, we should boast all the more gladly of our weakness!

We were designed for dependency on God! We were never meant to live this life out of our own strength!

We are the hands and feet and the mouthpiece! Connected to Him, not existing apart. It is not us, but Christ within us! If it is by the Lord that we have been sent, then surely it is He that prepares the way and the word to be spoken, and we need not fear! (Mark 3:11)

The Father is faithful! He does not contradict His word and promise. Lean in and trust that He will do as He said.

We don’t have to be qualified to be called.

We don’t have to be qualified to step out.

Trust, faith, and dependence on God are all that we need.

He will move.

He will prepare the way.

He will teach.

He will guide.

He will speak.

So, if we know that His power is made perfect in our human weakness, why hide them? Why allow the enemy to convince us to allow them to dictate our yes? Why allow the enemy’s lies to keep us from leaning into the strength of our King? If we know He goes before us to prepare the way, why doubt? If we know He is with us and that He will teach and provide the words to say, why not say yes??

Sure, boasting of our weakness (or acting despite it) could seem foolish to some, and I don’t know about you, but as for me, I’m perfectly fine with being considered a fool for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom! In fact, what an honor to become foolish in the eyes of the world because we love our King so much!! 

If He’s going to be revealed through it, if He’s going to be glorified and honored through it, if He’s going to touch lives through it, then sign me up! No matter what it costs me—my dignity, my pride, my comfort, a worldly image of perfection—that’s okay! Because I’ve been captivated by His love, and I don’t want to hold a single thing back that would bring praise to Him and further His kingdom!

~

Recently, while doing my quiet time with the Lord, I decided randomly to flip back through the Gospel of Mark. As I was skimming through some of my notes and the verses I had underlined leading up to training camp, I stopped at Mark 1:7.

“And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

I have read that verse and the other variations of it in the other three gospels many times, but this time there was a new meaning to it and a new truth sunk deeply into my heart in a way that it never had before.

In that moment, reading this one sentence, it was as if Jesus was saying those words to me. And unlike the other times I had read that verse, I finally understood what He was saying.

Jesus wasn’t calling the disciples to Him and then leaving them to figure out how to walk out this call on their own. No, Jesus called the disciples to Him and then promised that He would make them become fishers of men.

Just like in the verses from Exodus and Mark that I shared earlier, this verse is a promise of God’s direction and guidance and a reminder to trust Him. The pressure was never on us to teach ourselves how to live out the great commission. So why do we act like it all depends on us??

The Lord may partner with us in planting a seed or reaping the harvest, but it is only Him who can make it grow! Only God can move and transform hearts and lives. All we must do is choose to follow Him and be willing to learn and to act, be available, and be obedient.

This is something that I have personally experienced over the last 4 weeks serving in Thailand.

For those of you who don’t know, this is my first mission trip ever, and to be honest, I was quite intimidated by evangelizing. I’m a little awkward and reserved, and conversating with people, especially strangers, is not my strong suit BUT the Father has been so kind, gentle, and merciful in His guidance and direction as He makes me into a fisher of men! He has blessed me so many beautiful and sweet  opportunities to learn and practice living a life fully sold out for Him! A few of which I would like to share in more detail with you!

While teaching at A-Mane, my team has had the opportunity to go to the night market for dinner with some of the older students who had volunteered. The student that I was paired with was a 15 year old boy who had grown up in a buddhist family.

Most of our conversation was simply small talk as we got to know each other, but then came the question, “Why did you come to Thailand?” This question opened the door for a beautiful discussion in which we were able to talk about the differences between buddhism and Christianity.

The student was very curious about Jesus and my faith and asked many questions! This opportunity, which was so beautifully orchestrated by the Father, was such an amazing chance for me to get out of my comfort zone and share my faith for the first time without pressure and with someone who was curious, open, and receptive!

I am so thankful to have received such kindness and consideration from the Father for my first experience and I am praying that our conversation was just as impactful for this student as it was for me!

One week ago, my team went to a city called Lop Buri that is 2 hours away from Bangkok. To get there, we took a train; as there were five of us, I had the odd seat out. A very sweet and talkative older man named Rick sat next to me. Rick was in his 60s-70s and was from New Zealand on holiday. We talked for basically the entire 2 hours about everything that you could imagine, from the weather, to our lives back home, to politics, and my favorite topic, Jesus!!

Rick, while not a believer himself, was somewhat familiar with Christianity. We were able to share a beautiful, respectful, and open discussion about each other’s beliefs. Rick was immensely curious and asked question after question ranging from why I was a Christian and why I was here doing missions, to who wrote the Old Testament, to the validity of the Bible, to Jesus as a historical and real person, to whether or not the death, crucifixion, and resurrection actually happened or if it was only symbolic to the death of the ego, to life after death, and to God as an actual being who you can encounter and have relationship with.

Rick’s curiosity and openness was so precious and such a beautiful reminder that Jesus came for all and that He never stops pursuing people, no matter what age they are or what stage of life they’re in. There is not a single living person who is too far gone or too late for Jesus! This conversation was so impactful and taught me how to delve deeper with people on what they believe, defend my faith, and how to let the Holy Spirit guide me and give me the words to say. Praise God!!

On Friday, we were at Bangkok University for a frisbee outreach event. I had the opportunity to go with two of the women, Amy and Wawa, who were there with us from the church to evangelize within one of the buildings on campus. We sat at a table with two girls who were studying and were able to start a conversation with them.

Both of these girls had never heard the gospel before and had no idea who Jesus was! While I did not understand most of the conversation as it was in Thai, God weighed it on my heart to focus on interceding while Amy and Wawa shared the Good News! Both girls were very curious and asked many questions. While they were both open to continuing to learn more about Jesus, they said that it would be very difficult for them to convert as they come from a very traditional part of Thailand. BUT, one of them wants to read the Bible, which Amy is going to bring to her this week! Praise God!! It was so neat to be able to watch Amy and Wawa share and to see God move and then to hear about what happened afterwards!!

If you are willing, please pray for the student at A-Mane, Rick, and the two girls from Bangkok University, that their hearts would continue to be softened, that their eyes would be opened to the truth, and that they would all encounter God and receive salvation.

These are only just a few experiences that I have had, but it has been so cool to see and experience Mark 1:7 come to life right before my eyes! God is so good!!

Don’t get me wrong, I am still very much learning how to be a fisher of men, but God has been more than willing and so kind and faithful in His instruction and guidance!! And if He can do it for me, He 100% can do it for you too!!

Friend, I don’t know if you can relate to my story or not, but I would like to encourage you! The Great Commission is your portion too. You carry a reflection of our Creator unique to the design He created you to have. And He created you with purpose in advance for a time such as this! Don’t disqualify yourself!

The enemy only has as much authority over our lives as we allow him to; don’t allow him to steal your yes!

Be willing to take the step of faith and see how the Lord honors and uses your obedience for His glory! The Holy Spirit is with you! He will guide, teach, provide, and intercede for you! Trust and lean in!

God bless!!

Joyfully His,
Areonah