Mission Minded

Often, when I am writing these posts, I try to tie them into real life and what is going on around me, and this post is no different.

This semester, I only have two in-person classes, but both of them have made something abundantly clear in the first three weeks: if you have no direction, then you don't know where you're going.

And if you don't know where you're going, how will you ever get there? Who will be your team? What will you offer? How do you know when to celebrate and how do you know when to dig deeper?

You need a mission statement.

Now, this is something I have heard many people say throughout my life, in the contexts of jobs, or families, or marriages - it is a common realisation, that we as people, are designed with purpose. And must act accordingly, by living a purpose driven life: a life on a mission.

And yet, I still see posts on social media, with young adults and teenagers saying: "is it not good enough that I have no purpose or passions? Can't I just sleep? That's what I'm passionate about" (yes, this is a very real post I saw).

And to that I say: God has called us to do so much more than simply exist.

He's equipped us with skills, and passions, and purposes - He's placed us on mission, whether we realise it or not.

I also think it's no coincidence that this week I found myself in Exodus: a rescue mission.

So, I thought, what better way to learn than through observation, about what it means to be on mission and have a calling placed on your life!

The Calling

Moses spent his life on the run: from Egyptians who wanted to end his family line, from Israelites who thought he couldn't be trusted - and eventually he ended up in Midian tending to a flock, when suddenly: a bush was engulfed in flames and spoke to him.

This scripture still gets me:

"Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of Your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Exodus 3:5-6)

I find this particularly beautiful because of the way it's phrased "I am the God of Your Father" - we've probably all seen that a dozen times in scripture, especially in the Old Testament. But I think it's beautiful because it's true! A relationship with God, this action of being found by both God AND your calling, when you've spent your whole life on the run - it's being welcomed into a family that you can join through the blood of Jesus.

It was a family affair, having this relationship with God, that at the time primarily existed within the Israelites that Moses would be charged to save - but it is so much more than that!

It is a "welcome home, you who have been running", it is standing on Holy Ground, finally returning to the Holy One.

Often, when God says "I am the God of Your Father", it was a beginning: an introduction into the best thing those people would ever experience - a journey was about to begin, and you were being welcomed back home to your family. Because in order to have a mission for the Lord, you must first be willing to answer the call: joining the family through salvation.

The Mission

Mission statements, as I am learning, are calls to action. They are relatively straightforward, and simple, but they are personal to you. It is a business's way of saying "here is what we can offer you, that is unlike anything else you've experienced". Too generic, and your mission is lost. Too specific, and you can get bogged down in the details, and ultimately do more harm than good. The best mission statements focus on your main goal and what you value, and it is the thing that your employees are going to turn to when all hope seems lost. It's the thing you rely on when you need direction. It is how we take a next right step, towards the Lord.

"The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)

The Lord's mission for Moses was relatively straightforward, but it gave him a goal to work towards and it was a statement of action:

"So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."

If Moses were operating a business, his mission statement could be:

"Moses & Co. bringing Israelites out of Egypt since 13th Century BCE"

Simple, straightforward, and goal oriented: the details he left in God's hands, which is exactly what we are called to do when we go on mission for the Lord.

See, something that Moses had to realise, was that is wasn't a plan on his standards or skills or goals - it was about what the Lord had called him to do, and no amount of protesting could change that.

That is what makes a mission from the Lord different than every other business in the world: instead of relying on our own strengths, we are relying on someone so much greater.

The Product

Often, when we are given a mission by the Lord, the product we are offering is ourselves. It's something intangible, that we've been uniquely designed to offer. It's the reason why the Lord chose us: He knit us together, designing us with a purpose and gifts to accomplish that goal.

But often, the Devil tries to discount this "product" - convincing us that we are flawed, that the manufacturer needs to do a recall, because us? There's no way the God of the Universe wants us!

We are liars, and cowards, and failures - Moses was a murderer!

And yet, God still gives him a mission. And He still does the exact same thing for us - no amount of sin can counteract the divine healing that Jesus's death on the cross performed. When we come to a relationship with the Lord, He wipes away those mistakes. And because we are humans, and our flesh is flawed, when we come to Him with repenting hearts - He wipes it away all over again.

Sin is not the only reason that the Devil will try to convince us we aren't enough for the Lord: the way we are designed is also something he attacks. When the Lord gave Moses his mission, Moses's immediate response was protesting!

"Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?" God answered, "I will be with you." (Exodus 3:11-12)

Moses protested and pleaded with God five times in the course of chapters 3-4 ALONE - he was very adamant about the fact that God had to be mistaken, because he was not the man for this job.

Often, in moments like these, I'm thankful for a long suffering and patient God, who reminds us of our value when we doubt it. Because the reality is, we aren't doubting ourselves - we are doubting the God within us who has called us to do big things in His name.

When this happens, we cannot allow the Devil to discount us from all that God is trying to offer us! Instead, we must dig into the intentional Creator of All Things, and trust that He is going before us - God would not call you to something just to see you fail: it will be to either glorify Him or grow you, regardless of the outcome.

The Team

Both in business, and in life, we need a team of allies to succeed. This was especially true for Moses who struggled to speak - God gave him Aaron.

"Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand win the place of God for him, telling him what to say." (Exodus 4:16)

In life and business, it is not good for man to be alone. You need partners for strength and accountability, to pick up where you lack. This is why in the business world, we have the supply change - each part is connected to one another, and if one falls, so do all the other pieces.

The body of Christ is very similar - whether we want to or not, we need to rely on each other, because if one of us falls, then we all will, and that is no way to accomplish a mission.

So whether that is your family, friends, colleagues, or the local church - ask yourself: what team am I a part of? And then let them help you!

The Competition

This is one of my favourite parts about this whole story: when Moses and Aaron go to speak to Pharaoh, and tell him to let the Israelites go, they also perform wonderful signs and miracles, as proof that the Lord sent them. But for the first several times, the Egyptian magicians try to copy them and undermine the power of God - and the first few times they succeed at replicating the process!

"Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents!"

However, each time, their dark magic was not enough to stand against the power of the Lord.

"Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs." (Exodus 7:11-12)

These magicians turned staffs to snakes, water to blood, and summoned frogs, but they could never end the plagues on their own. They couldn't summon gnats, or vanquish plagues, or cheat death.

They were competition in the world's eyes, but in the face of God - they were nothing more than momentary distractions that would ultimately glorify the awesomeness of His power.

In the world, there are plenty of other entities that might be "similar" to your's, and there are people that share interests with you, or have comparable skills - but with a mission that is uniquely from the Lord, there is only one you - and more importantly: there is only one God.

And He is in competition with no one.

The Celebration

Finally, we make it back to the reason we started this: if you never have goals, then how do you know when you've succeeded?

For businesses, this may be selling a certain number of products or reaching a monetary goal, but for God - every mission is set with the same goal in mind: find freedom in Him. Come to the Father.

It's what makes every mission from the Lord unique, and a never ending process - what can be done to be even more sancitified? How can we draw closer to Him each day?

This liberation was literal for Moses and the Israelites: it wasn't until Pharaoh finally let them go, that they were truly able to celebrate and have the Feast that they had long since been desiring.

"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance."

(Exodus 12:14)

"Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come."

(Exodus 12:17)

"Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go."

(Exodus 12:31-32)

And just like every calling from the Lord, the celebration didn't mean "The End" - it never does. It simply means "prepare for what comes next" - marching into the wilderness, conquering new lands, and spreading the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

The Point

We are ever on a mission, if we allow ourselves to be. Which is a good thing - because it's the way we were designed! Aaron and Moses were not the first people in the Bible to be given a calling from the Lord, and they certainly weren't the last, but they are fantastic evidence for why having a "mission statement" for your life is so important - especially when that mission is serving the Lord.

For this blog, my mission is to share with people that: we want to get passionate, about the little things in life, on purpose - because these passions lead to our ultimate purpose in life!

And that is something I want people to walk away from every blog post having realised:

You matter. Your passions matter. What brings you joy matters - not just to me, but to the Lord who gave you them! And He has a mission for you that is intertwined in all of those things.

So, I challenge: what's your statement? What's your scheme? But more importantly: what mission has the Lord given you?

To being purpose driven...

- Emma

"Be fearless in pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."