Scaling the Wall
As I’ve mentioned before, Judah and I are currently working through a Missionary Development Program. As I’ve also mentioned before, I will be writing about some of the things we’re doing or books we’re reading.
So, here’s another book: Scaling the Wall, by Kathy Hicks. At an Urbana Missions Conference several years ago, one of the organizations had a display set up (if you’ve been there, you know about these crazy set-ups) that included a giant wall with the heading “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Father, I offer you these things that might limit me from doing my part in seeing the nations worship you…” People wrote their honest fears, hesitations, and misgivings: everything that acted as a barrier to pursuing missions. Someone decided to write down everything on the wall, divide them into categories, gather encouraging stories related to these categories, and make a book about it. It’s about scaling the wall. Get it?
Anyway, the wall is long gone, but I can still write. This is about to get real, guys. Based on some of the categories in the book, here are my barriers to going into missions.
Fear of an uncertain future
I bet you’re not surprised to see this one. In this chapter, a woman named Susan shares her story of how God used her in spite of her fears and says, “I am someone who is easily made anxious and would secretly like a nice, well-ordered, predictable life but who has just enough God-given courage to act on the fact that that is just not reality.” Does that sounds exactly like me? Yes, it does. Well, at least, I hope I have the God-given courage. {That’s what this blog is about, isn’t it?} If God can do this for Susan, then I am confident that He can do it for me, too.
Parents and other relationships
I combined two chapters here, because they seem related. We have a lot of family that we are very close to emotionally. Geographically, the closest family is about 3 and a half hours away. This is already pretty difficult for us at times, so I often wonder how hard it would be if we were on the other side of the world. My brother and sisters are still really young, and I don’t want to miss them growing up. Similarly, we have nieces and nephews popping up all over the place, and we don’t want to miss them either. On a more practical note, I often worry about who will care for my parents when they get older, if I’m out of the country.
Need for more guidance
Apparently a lot of people struggle with this. I often find myself wondering, “What exactly are we going to do in missions? What organization will we go with? When will we go? What kind of work will we do?” There are a lot of details to work out, and it’s pretty daunting. One of the writers in the book compared this dilemma to driving a car: you can’t steer a car that’s not moving. So, I guess it can’t hurt to take steps of faith, and see where God directs them.
Finances
I bet you saw this one coming too. Can you say student loans? Even though we work hard, live very frugally, and follow all of Dave Ramsey’s financial principles, it’s going to take a long time to pay off our loans. And can we really go into the missions field with lots of student loans? Actually, it kind of stresses me out. Of course, the book shared miraculous stories of people struggling financially and God providing at the last minute and so on and so forth. Despite the fact that this has already happened to us multiple times, sometimes it’s difficult to believe that everything will work out. So, we’ll just continue to do everything in our power to tackle our loans, and trust that if God wills it, He will help us in His timing.
So, there you have it, folks. Was that real enough for you? I just told you some of the greatest anxieties of my life, so be nice and send me chocolate. Just kidding. Well, you can if you want to. But seriously, if you are considering missions or any kind of ministry, absolutely read this book. It will challenge you to examine your life and be honest with yourself about your fears and misgivings. And more importantly, it’s very encouraging, and that’s what this blog is all about!
So, here’s another book: Scaling the Wall, by Kathy Hicks. At an Urbana Missions Conference several years ago, one of the organizations had a display set up (if you’ve been there, you know about these crazy set-ups) that included a giant wall with the heading “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Father, I offer you these things that might limit me from doing my part in seeing the nations worship you…” People wrote their honest fears, hesitations, and misgivings: everything that acted as a barrier to pursuing missions. Someone decided to write down everything on the wall, divide them into categories, gather encouraging stories related to these categories, and make a book about it. It’s about scaling the wall. Get it?
Anyway, the wall is long gone, but I can still write. This is about to get real, guys. Based on some of the categories in the book, here are my barriers to going into missions.
Fear of an uncertain future
I bet you’re not surprised to see this one. In this chapter, a woman named Susan shares her story of how God used her in spite of her fears and says, “I am someone who is easily made anxious and would secretly like a nice, well-ordered, predictable life but who has just enough God-given courage to act on the fact that that is just not reality.” Does that sounds exactly like me? Yes, it does. Well, at least, I hope I have the God-given courage. {That’s what this blog is about, isn’t it?} If God can do this for Susan, then I am confident that He can do it for me, too.
Parents and other relationships
I combined two chapters here, because they seem related. We have a lot of family that we are very close to emotionally. Geographically, the closest family is about 3 and a half hours away. This is already pretty difficult for us at times, so I often wonder how hard it would be if we were on the other side of the world. My brother and sisters are still really young, and I don’t want to miss them growing up. Similarly, we have nieces and nephews popping up all over the place, and we don’t want to miss them either. On a more practical note, I often worry about who will care for my parents when they get older, if I’m out of the country.
Need for more guidance
Apparently a lot of people struggle with this. I often find myself wondering, “What exactly are we going to do in missions? What organization will we go with? When will we go? What kind of work will we do?” There are a lot of details to work out, and it’s pretty daunting. One of the writers in the book compared this dilemma to driving a car: you can’t steer a car that’s not moving. So, I guess it can’t hurt to take steps of faith, and see where God directs them.
Finances
I bet you saw this one coming too. Can you say student loans? Even though we work hard, live very frugally, and follow all of Dave Ramsey’s financial principles, it’s going to take a long time to pay off our loans. And can we really go into the missions field with lots of student loans? Actually, it kind of stresses me out. Of course, the book shared miraculous stories of people struggling financially and God providing at the last minute and so on and so forth. Despite the fact that this has already happened to us multiple times, sometimes it’s difficult to believe that everything will work out. So, we’ll just continue to do everything in our power to tackle our loans, and trust that if God wills it, He will help us in His timing.
So, there you have it, folks. Was that real enough for you? I just told you some of the greatest anxieties of my life, so be nice and send me chocolate. Just kidding. Well, you can if you want to. But seriously, if you are considering missions or any kind of ministry, absolutely read this book. It will challenge you to examine your life and be honest with yourself about your fears and misgivings. And more importantly, it’s very encouraging, and that’s what this blog is all about!
In His timing, God will make it abundantly clear what his will is for your life. You have time to figure it out. And I add this side note completely without selfish motivation....the mission field can be anywhere, it is everywhere. Keep your heart open to where God leads...it may not be on the other side of the world.
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