“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

Philippians 3:13 NLT
 

Today I embark on a journey to the antiquities of the Mediterranean. I am truly blessed to be able to even go on this trip, but even more so, to be able to spend time with my family and friends. 

As this trip has been planned for a while, it unexpectedly has come as a predecessor to a rescheduled mission trip just a few days after I return (more to come on that later). As I am excited about both, my usual preparation for international mission work is being hijacked by the beauty of the sea and the delicacies of the buffet! 

But as God always does, He has actually made this perfect timing as I will be porting in cities that hold archaeological, cultural, and best of all, Biblical history. 

My two favorite people in the Bible, with the exception of Jesus of course, are Daniel and Paul. 

Daniel, because he was courageous, obedient, and never failed to put himself in harms way to prove that His God was Who He said He was! And by so doing so he exposed the miraculous power of God and influenced the hardest of hearts. 

But Paul….mmmmm…his was a life intercepted by grace! His life was radically changed when he met the living and loving God who had great plans to use his past for a new purpose.  And Paul too, being obedient, courageous, and not afraid of endangering his own well-being, took the message of Christ to places of peace as well as hostile environments. He wasn’t afraid of what he knew was coming, but he did not shrink back from the mission God had given Him. “I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (Acts 20:22-24).

So, as I take the trip of a lifetime, I will also be reflecting on the mission work of Paul as I prepare myself to do a greater work that God is calling me to do. I will journal along the way – in ports that Paul himself ministered in – and share with you the impact that Paul’s encouragement brings me. And I hope that through this journey, you too will be encouraged and inspired to move a little bit out of your ordinary grind to be an extraordinary servant for God. 

History tells us how the past has shaped our present but His Story tells us how the past can shape our future. His Story empowers us to put our past behind but still use it for today, looking forward to what lies ahead.