“So, what now?”
A question that looms in the minds of most graduating students. Graduation marks the end of a season and the beginning of the next.
What does God have in mind for me in the next season? What do I want my life to be like?
I had 2 options.
Safety: with the major I graduated from, I can easily find a job and live a (seemingly) comfortable life.
Adventure: I can do something to fight human trafficking.
Both are good.
Which is God’s best for me?
I chose adventure.
6 months ago, I flew half way across the world for a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
I would say that it was really good, but really hard. It was like an open heart surgery every day, especially during the first half of DTS.
God unearthed stuff within me that I did not even know was there, stuff that was buried deep down – Insecurities, lies that I believed in, hurts, unforgiveness, pride, fears.
Thankfully, God is a good God. He does not leave us hurting, instead, He brings healing and freedom.
I no longer have to be a slave to all these. Seems so easy right? But we, being the humans we are, tend to carry our broken chains along, clinging on to the identities that the world has placed on us. Why so? I guess we are just so used to carrying it like a safety blanket ， that being free feels weird and uncomfortable.
It really is a process of surrendering to God daily, and choosing to let go of that safety blanket and to put on the freedom given by God.
What is your safety blanket? Would you surrender it to God and allow Him to bring healing and freedom into your life?
Hard but trust me, it is worth it.
In the second half of DTS we were sent to other nations to be God’s hands and feet.
We met refugees, trafficking victims, traffickers, buyers, missionaries, pastors, volunteers, and people of all nations going about their daily lives..
One thing all of them have in common is that they are all precious children of God (you are too!!).
And that means we are family in Christ. God showed me that it is worth slowing down and going the extra mile for people. A simple “hello” can make somebody’s day, a simple smile can show someone that they have value and worth.
At a warehouse in Athens sorting
shoes to send to refugee camps
These 6 months have also deepened my desire to see modern-day slavery come to an end.
Interacting with trafficking victims face-to-face, hearing their stories and becoming friends with them has further fuelled my passion.
Their faces and their smiles that hide feelings of hopelessness and desperation, will forever stay in my heart. They are the reason why we continue to fight even if it seems like it’s going nowhere, the reason why we can allow our hearts to be broken and restored by God again and again, the reason why my team and I spent hours interceding. They are worth it.
What is God stirring in your heart today? It could be anything — compassion for a co-worker, compassion for the uncle selling newspapers along the streets, compassion for fatherless children…
God is choosing you to bring His love to people.
You are so unique and God has put you in the right place, at the right time to reach people that nobody else can.
Would you respond to God today?
by Sharon Ang
