The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.
~ T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
~ Moses, in Deuteronomy after experiencing 80 years of G_d’s faithfulness
Three years ago, this writer left his country, his family, his friends, his job, his church, and some 45 years of time in America. His life was packed into 3 suitcases and 2 backpacks. Tickets were bought, goodbyes were said. He went to start a new life in Asia. He went to teach kids English and Bible – and He married the girl of his dreams. And there were no plans to return to live in the states at his departure (and this is still true.)
While it seemed like it would be a stressful time, the preparation was actually one of the most most peaceful months of my life.
Yeah, the road to Bacolod City, Philippines for our wedding was fraught with some bureaucratic hoops. While not a “nightmare,” it involved 4 countries, immigration offices, judges, a pastor, courts in two countries and three states, telexes, faxes, embassies, scanned documents, contracts, powers of attorney, living wills, healthcare directives, affidavits, email, Skype, notaries and complex international airplane travel. And as Helmuth Graf von Moltke said, “No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
BUT G_d. All of this came together in a month! We both were working full time, and simply prayed and followed His leading all the way through. It seemed almost effortless. My then-fiance’ made it from Jakarta to the Philippines… and i left the next day from the USA. We were married the day after i got there. Then, we were back to work in Jakarta within a couple of weeks.
It has been quite a ride. Many dozens of kids in Jakarta have met Jesus, and others have learned to abide more closely to His heart. We learned and grew in our relationship with each other, and He set us free to trust Him even more deeply.
Now, with a wonderful wife on my arm and a beautiful brown boy as a stepson, we are about to do it again. This time, the path contained quite a bit more stressors and spiritual warfare. However, even though it took over six months of literally following Him through prayer and leaving it in His hands, we are embarking on a long-term journey to China.
We leave tomorrow morning on a journey that will land us in Tianjin, China to teach Bible, Worldviews and Honors Philosophy. My beloved wife will be a counselor in the middle school. And this time it is 5 suitcases, 3 backpacks and a couple of document satchels, but we are going where He is sending us, and we don’t have any plans to go anywhere else, unless He tells us to go.
How in the world…?
Him.
Beloved, may i be blunt for a moment? Some of you are reading this and thinking, oh wow! I could never do that!! Yes, you could.
Beloved, may i be even more blunt? G_d speaks directly to us through His Word and through His Spirit living in us. We know EXACTLY what we are supposed to do with our lives. The issue is that we will not allow our hearts to be made full (courageous). We would rather choke off the flow of life and clarity and direction, so that we might maintain our creature comforts.
The only thing this writer and his wife did was to make one decision: We chose to stop making decisions about our own life, and instead allowed the One who knows the best to make them. Period.
So yeah, maybe i would have ended up cleaning toilets at my local church. But, by His grace, i would have done a seriously good job of making porcelain shine. Maybe my wife would just be a kindergarten teacher in a little school out in the countryside. But those kids would have been taught wholeheartedly by a woman who speaks ten languages!
It just so happens that, in this case, He wanted one of his own to go to Jakarta and marry a woman who needed a husband and be a father to a little boy who needs a dad. Then, He is sending us into another country that really needs to hear the Good News.
Can we see it? This all is not about us. It is about G_d getting the glory He alone is gloriously due. However, and this is a wonderfully big BUT… His glory results in great good for those that seek it.
So, tonight this writer and his wife are sitting on “go.” He is about to launch us into something another couple thousand miles away. But, really the only distance in our lives that makes any difference is the distance between us knowing what we should do – and what we actually do.
We all – every moment – are sitting on go. Would that we all would be willing to simply do what He says – and trust Him for the rest! For when we trust and obey – everything most surely will be made right in our lives. It will all work together for good! Tonight is your night. Time to go where He sends you.
