How do you describe American culture? We live for the self-achieving American Dream; a lifestyle of carefree passions and desires while slightly missing the simplicity of the life we grew up with. We’ve gotten accustomed to searching urgently for what makes us happy when we should be searching for the source of happiness and joy: Jesus Christ.

Once you go on a mission trip, you’re never quite the same. You start to cling to the experience of feeling closer to God in a different country or on a different continent than you thought possible. Thoughts linger on the small things you remember and soon enough, you’re daydreaming of the breeze of African wind. You start to miss the giant anthills and the rickety ferry rides. And then it hits you that sometimes being a follower of Christ calls you away from comfort into the risky adventure of another land begging to hear the goodness of The Gospel.

The Bible says to “take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I think this means that instead of telling Him what we want, once we allow Him to become first in our hearts, Christ will plant a new desire, a great desire, for what He has specially designed for us to do. The dreams and goals that He wants for us suddenly become what we dream for ourselves. And whether that means staying in the USA or traveling miles across the ocean, Christ is begging us to follow him. Not to take control, or abandon everything for what is in our hearts, but rather surrender those plans and dreams so He can lift them to bigger and better places.

That is what the culture of Christ is: leading us by faith, bringing us to His goals, and guiding us along the way to serve Him. Being under us to support, being beside us to help, and being above us to love, Christ is with us every step of the way. Some will say no, some will say yes, and some will hesitate, but even in the midst of this, God is higher. Let the culture of Christ be your Rock, your Cornerstone, and your Refuge.