The Greater Goal

by Brad Spangler

I don’t know about you, but I have to encourage myself to keep moving forward in certain moments in my life. Like David in Psalm 25:20, my heart cries out, “Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.” More simply, I have come to the end of my strength and I need to rely on God’s strength to keep me going. Then there are moments where the goodness and faithfulness of God are out on display for all to see, and I am elated with the fact God called me to serve as a missionary within the Nordic region of the world! 

Last summer, during a short trip to Lahti, Finland, I had the privilege of ministering in Tovion Keskus, pastored by Stanton and Hannah Mtensa. It was a beautifully diverse church. There were so many different ethnicities represented on that Sunday. Among those in attendance was an eighty-one-year-old man. This gentleman happened to be the grandfather of my interpreter that day, but we will return to this fact in just a moment. 

While speaking that day, I asked the congregation, “Are you committed to something bigger than yourself?” and “Are you willing to sacrifice and endure for that greater goal?” I intended to highlight our life expectancy being extremely short on this side of eternity. The Apostle James wrote, “Our life is but a vapor,” driving home the point that we must completely surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus and decide to live intentionally with that greater goal in mind. What is that greater goal, you might ask? The greater goal is to advance the Kingdom of God by using our time, talent, and resources to serve others, reflecting God’s glorious image into creation. 

As I closed the message that day, several people gave their life to Jesus, leading me back to the eighty-one-year-old gentleman. After the service, my interpreter came over to explain why she had broken down and started to cry during the alter call. She said, “I could hardly speak for a few moments and began to cry because I saw my eighty-one-year-old grandfather raise his hand and give his life to Jesus.” I can’t explain how much my heart leaped with joy at hearing this testimony! The hard work and the sacrifice of living as a missionary become insignificant in those moments. 

All of us are called to something bigger than ourselves. We will have to endure sacrifice and hardship for that greater goal. As I mentioned before, we will have moments where we must choose to trust in God even when our soul seems downcast, and our bodies are worn. But then, there will be moments that empower us to keep on going. Moments that can only be summed up as “divinely appointed.” As you read this, I don’t know where you are on this spectrum, but I do know that people need what you have. So I encourage you to keep trusting God and keep moving forward.