bethanyhenderson.com

[Written January 2, 2017]

In 2012, I visited France for the first time. My French class and I toured northern France for 10 days and visited Paris, the Loirre Valley, Mont Saint Michel, St. Malo, Normandy and Rouen. It was a defining trip in my life in that it affirmed my desire for life abroad. However, this second trip to France was very different for me.

I returned from Paris late last night and was in France for 10 days. Unlike in 2012, this time, Europe was not this large, crowded, foreign place; it had a greater sense of home and belonging to me after visiting it for a third time (in 2015, I visited Italy, Greece, and England). I also had the blessing of staying with one of my dearest friends who lives in Paris and traveled with her to Nice for three days.

What I love most about life abroad is the sense of belonging it brings me despite being in a completely foreign environment. I’m forced to be fully independent as I navigate my way on the metro, making triple sure I’m making all the right connections. Independence makes way for boldness. I have noticed that there’s a ferocity and capability that comes out of me when I am totally immersed in an unfamiliar place. One of my dearest friends, my roommate from India, Ali, once told me to be independent when out in the world, but through that, be actively dependent on God. I’ve never forgotten that. Those words have been a war cry in some of the hardest moments I’ve faced overseas. Being independent reminds me that I am capable of anything. And that true capability comes from my dependence on the Lord; He shows his glory and faithfulness and majesty to me in life’s most crucial moments.

Although some may think I’m mad for travelling to Greece and England by myself and exploring Cochin, India alone, I have truthfully never been scared when immersed in different cultures because I trust where Jesus calls me. He leads me out upon the waters to expose the parts of myself He is perfecting and renewing.

If you know me at all, I hope that I’ve made it clear that travel is not a restless wander for me. Travel is a spiritual journey that the Lord leads me to and from as He wills it. I have been questioned by armed military officials in northern Sri Lanka and sent back to the capital; I’ve been caught in a hostile French protest; I’ve rebuked an oppressive spirit through the Holy Spirit on a train to Naples. And while uncomfortable–if not dangerous–these experiences only heightened my thirst for MORE! I believe there is a stark difference between reckless danger and God’s danger. 

I find it discouraging when people tend to choose what is safe by the world’s standards over what is spiritually challenging. One of my favourite quotes by C.S. Lewis from the Chronicles of Narnia series says, “… safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” – (About Aslan) The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Sometimes what the Lord will call you to do in your life will sound risky and dangerous. But that’s what living by faith is exactly for. When we trust God and choose him over the familiar comforts of  the world, He values that and blesses us in more ways than we can imagine. Unforgettable experiences will be what we remember most at the end of our lives. I love that I get to remember the awe when I saw the inside of the Sacre-Ceour Basilica for the first time; the relief I felt through the kindness of a stranger who led us to the right metro stop in a sketchy part of Athens; and the wonder when I saw Rome from the Vatican and Paris from the Arc de Triomphe. All these experiences taught me that by trusting God throughout my daily life, life itself can be enjoyed in its fullest measure because He is with me. Always. Everywhere.

My encouragment to you is this, friends:

By saying “yes, I’ll go,” you give Jesus permission to be your Saviour and your provision. He has the power to transform you and give you a new heart when walking in obedience to His calling for your life. And although safety is persuading, what is unknown but sought through faith will be one of your life’s most powerful testimonies.

I recently finished reading Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and it radically changed how I discern the Spirit’s calling over my life. It’s written for men from the perspective of what men deeply desire in life according to their God-given design, but seldom live out. There’s two quotes from Wild at Heart that especially that struck me. The first is, “A woman who is living out her true design will be valiant, vulnerable, and scandalous.” The second, “The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that is remains untamed.”

Jesus and the apostles were called to a nomadic life of sleeping somewhere new every night and depending on the kindness of strangers for a good meal. Despite being led into dangerous places with dangerous people, the Lord met the apostles where they were and energized them with all they needed at the times they needed it most–not to deprive them of provision but chose to reveal His glory to them when they obtained the heart posture to understand it best.

I believe nothing in 2000 years has changed the Lord’s radical desire for us to live dangerously for Him. But we must firstly, DESIRE Him. We must secondly, CHOOSE Him. We must thirdly, FOLLOW Him. And when we do, our deepest desires in life will mirror the Lord’s deepest desires for us.