She Was His Before She Was Mine
by Tracy Gordon
“Then He said to His disciples, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” –Matthew 9:37-38
A couple of months ago, I began reading the Bible in a Year program by Nicky Gumbel, the founder of Alpha. I am thoroughly enjoying Nicky’s commentary, as the way he breaks down the information has really given me a better understanding of the Scriptures and drives me to go deep in my questions and seek out the answers.
Recently, in one of my daily readings, Romans 8:28 was at the forefront. It says, “Trust that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” The next reading was from Matthew 4:4 where Jesus said, “people do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Just as we need physical food, we also need the spiritual food that comes from hearing the words of God.
A little bit later in the day after reading those Scriptures, I was listening to the verse of the day on my Bible App from Matthew 9:37-38: “Then He said to His disciples, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”” Boy, our gracious God was really speaking to me in these very particular verses. It was as though He was saying, “Silly girl, it’s all right here. You just needed a little reminder.”
You see, our daughter Holly shared with us a few weeks ago that she feels the Lord is calling her into service as a full-time missionary in Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) for a year. She has done two short-term missions there over the past two years and upon her return from the most recent one, felt there was so much more work to be done both medically (she’s a nurse) and spiritually (there is a great need for the Gospel and many are hungry for Jesus). She has always dreamed and desired to use her skills as a medical professional along with her love for Jesus and gift of the Gospel to bring both physical and spiritual healing to unreached people.
It all went down like this…one night, Holly came to her dad and me and said, “Hey guys, can I talk to you for a minute?” Immediately, my heart started to race, my armpits started to sweat and I felt weak in the knees. You see, this wasn’t the first time we had been approached this way by her. Holly has gone on seven short-term missions all over the world and when she comes to us like this, I have to hold my breath and brace my Momma heart. Of course, this is my human nature and worry creeps in due to the volatile regions she has gone to, but this time was different. Holly was going for a year and would not be coming home for that entire duration, and she was going to a region where active war had broken out in the country next door. I don’t care if the war is 650 miles away from where she’ll be! That’s too close for this Momma’s understanding! The whole time she was telling us all of the amazing things she would be doing there, the people she would be serving, how God had put this call on her heart and she couldn’t ignore it, I was speechless, crying, and I might have thrown a little tantrum. When my son heard the news, his humorous response was, “Darn it Holly, why do you have to keep answering every time God calls? Just don’t pick up once in a while.”
In that moment of Holly sharing about this call from the Lord and her desire to give Him her “yes,” I could not have been prouder of my beautiful daughter. I always told my children that other than the day they were born, the day of their Confirmation—when they claimed their faith and love for Jesus as their own—was one of the most blessed and grateful days of my life. And now, here was my daughter going to the ends of the earth to do what Jesus calls us to do so many times in the New Testament.
When Jesus was teaching and training the twelve disciples, he often used imagery and metaphors to communicate important truths to them. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus relates the work that He is doing to a farmer’s work in the field. He is saying that the people who do not know Jesus are like a field of grain that is ready to be harvested. The problem is, there are not enough workers to go and harvest among the fields. Jesus then asks them to pray that the Lord would send more workers to gather the harvest. What He is emphasizing is that there are not enough people sharing the Good News with others. As Christians, we have been tasked with sharing that message and are called to be bold in our sharing so that others can experience new life in Jesus just as we have. We all need to take a moment and pray for the harvest in our communities and for the Holy Spirit to fill us, and then ask God, “Who are You sending me to go to?” What is God’s plan to see the people of your community saved?
As I began taking all of this to prayer, the Lord did not disappoint and started putting my heart more at ease; pointing me to Scripture that reminded me of His important truths. Right in Psalm 25:13, we are told that when we are living a life of worship and obedience and following God’s way, He promises that we will be at ease. In Psalm 25, we are reminded repeatedly of how God guides, instructs, teaches, and confides in His people. And just as the Lord promised Moses in Exodus 33:14, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” Through this prayer time, I had a profound encounter with the Holy Spirit where the Lord helped me realize that Holly was His before she was mine. Wow, that reminder hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to say, “Are you serious? You’re going to pull that card?!” But I refrained and instead was in awe at His goodness in helping this Momma get over herself and completely surrender it all to Him. Upon doing that, I have truly had peace which surpasses all understanding.
Holly leaves for Iraq in November. Will there be tears? Absolutely. But these will be tears of great pride as I watch the daughter God blessed Jim and me with and entrusted us to raise up…embark on a life-changing, selfless journey where she will be changing and saving lives both physically and spiritually. I will do my best not to fear as I know Who goes before her and holds her in the palm of His hands. Thank you, Jesus!
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promises, Your presence, and Your peace. We know full well that the harvest is plentiful. Please guide our hearts and minds towards obedience so that when we get a call from You, we are quick to answer with our “yes.” I ask your blessing of protection and provision over all missionaries serving locally, nationally, and globally. May we too be Your hands and feet right where we are or wherever You are calling us to serve. In Your mighty name we pray, Amen.