I'm usually a fan of under-sell and over-deliver when it comes to stories, movies, food references, well pretty much everything. However, I heard the most amazing story recently, and I thought I would be an encouragement to you.
Our friends Paul and Perrianne went to South Africa to participate in a Leadership Training program at a great church there. Participants in the school are there for discipleship and to prepare for leadership in church or missions. One man that Paul met had quite a journey that took him from South Africa (where he grew up) to Canada (where he said he ran away from God and the church). By the grace of God, this man found Himself not only back in the fold of God, but also feeling called to missions. Specifically, he was feeling called to work with orphans in Ukraine. You don't want to miss this...
https://soundcloud.com/jasonbollinger/you-never-know
Of all the people who could've mentored this guy, God sent our friends halfway across the world to be the ones who would also be able to bring this story back.
When we adopted our girls, our focus was on being obedient to what we felt like God had called us to do. We didn't pursue adoption so that other people would. We didn't adopt our daughters to try and catalyze a movement. We didn't have an agenda of recruiting missionaries for the rest of the kids that are stuck. We just did what we felt like we were supposed to do. However, you never know how God will use obedience to trigger more obedience. It's contagious. We are so humbled by this story and so excited for this man.
I read something recently that talked about enjoying God. Not just submitting, obeying, following and fearing, but enjoying Him also. He is a God to be enjoyed. Stories like this remind us why. It's a beautiful thing to see God do more with your obedience than you ever could. Not only that, it's a lot of fun. It brings a depth of joy better than any you could make for yourself.
The fact that you never know what God's going to do with your obedience is an encouragement for us to be continually obedient. Not only is it a delight to experience God's provision and blessing through obedience, it might literally just change the world.