Just a couple of days ago I dropped my wife off at the airport to fly overseas to deliver supplies and serve at an orphanage in Uganda. While I am incredibly proud of her for choosing to follow the desire God put into her heart, I’d be lying if I said that her being 7,000 miles away doesn’t make me uncomfortable.
In reality, this trip is out of both of our comfort zones and as we ate breakfast the morning before her flight we began discussing some of her worries about the trip. She was concerned about the long flights and the great distance that she would be from home. Thankfully, in the middle of our concerns, Jesus placed Matthew 28:19-20 on my heart.
[zephyr_quote author=”Matthew 28:19-20″]“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[/zephyr_quote]
This passage contains the Great Commission and it’s accompanied by a beautiful promise. It’s a promise that makes the Great Commission possible.
It’s a promise that says Jesus will be with us always.
As I thought about that verse it gave me unbelievable peace. Regardless of location, circumstance, or situation… He is with us always.
Am I still concerned? Am I still in prayer for my wife’s safety? Yes and yes, but I can also enjoy the peace that surpasses all understanding by realizing that Jesus is with her just as He is with me.
By living our life with an understanding of His closeness it gives us the power to move past our comfort zones and beyond our borders. When you feel God calling you somewhere in life, understand that you don’t have to have it all together or completely figured out before you begin. You just have to trust that Jesus is near and that He will never leave you or forsake you. (Deut. 31:6)
Jesus desires for us to live a life bigger than we are, but He doesn’t expect us to do it alone. I don’t think Jesus expects us to change the world by mustering up enough strength and bravery in and of ourselves. Instead, I believe He wants us to live humbly in the reality of His nearness and grasp the fact that He has sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of us.
Every day is new opportunity to live in this reality. Every day we can realize His nearness and know for sure, that Jesus is with us always.