Unstoppable confidence to navigate rough waters.
Standing against judgement and negativity toward what we believe in is a major struggle in missions to the unreached people groups. In my case, I am called to go and share the good news of the Gospel with the lost, neglected and abandoned of this world. I truly love it and believe it is a such privilege and despite the odds against it I consider it a noble cause. I am constantly entering places that to be honest nobody wants to go on vacation. There is not a lot of glamour going to a poor village in the outskirts of Myanmar, there is no red carpet when you go to a place where they do not have a grocery store or a flushing toilet in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia. However, the most well paid job in a corporate career or the most high adrenaline sport would not compare to the amazing reward from helping people receive transformation and hope in their lives through Gospel access.
Finding your life's purpose is something you should fight for everyday. It will give you the drive that you need to wake up everyday and get after it. Motivation will fade away many times especially in times of struggle. Our feelings are fickle so we definitely can’t live just by how we feel. As a believer I want to intentionally make my life purpose to know Jesus every single day a little bit more and at the same time make Him known. It requires lots of audacity to respond to your calling, courage to fight against your comfort zone and zeal to push it to next level. It requires stamina to keep moving forward even when at times you do not see anything extraordinary happening.
What I have observed along of all these years serving is that you will fight some veiled enemies as: apathy, self-pity, skepticism, criticism and procrastination. I call them enemies of progress, enemies of our spiritual and personal growth.
What was a big shift in my calling and also a huge boost of energy for me to keep pursuing mission work for all these years was learning that what counts is the man in the arena. As T. Roosevelt said “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
As you want to gain or regain passion to conquer and pursue your life’s purpose, especially regarding to glorifying the name of Jesus through your gifts, talents and vocation, I want to encourage you to name your enemies and value yourself the value as a man or woman in the arena. There is no other way, the only way is by grace, through faith, trusting that God is faithful and continuing fighting for your dreams to come true.
Therefore, go and make disciples and while you are going, share your story with others, share also God’s story on the cross. And surely He is with you always, to the very end of age.
Matt Mattos
CEO, Founder World Nations International
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