“We live by faith or we do not live at all. Either we venture or we vegetate. If we venture, we do so by faith simply because we cannot know the end of anything at its beginning. We risk marriage or we stay single. We prepare for a profession by faith or we give up before we start. By faith we move mountains of opposition or we are stopped by mole hills.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Faith honors God and God honors faith! A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth. For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single convert.
Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The thought of leaving their post, however, brought great grief to this devoted couple, for they felt sure that God was in their labors, and that they would see people turn to Christ in due season.
They stayed; and for a year or two longer, darkness reigned. Then one day a friend in England sent word to the Moffats that he wanted to mail them a gift and asked what they would like. Trusting that in time the Lord would bless their work, Mrs. Moffat replied, “Send us a communion set; I am sure it will soon be needed.”
God honored that dear woman’s faith. The Holy Spirit moved upon the hearts of the villagers, and soon a little group of six converts was united to form the first Christian church in that land. The communion set from England was delayed in the mail; but on the very day before the first commemoration of the Lord’s super in Bechuanaland, the set arrived.
In today's culture, it appears that unless something is humongous it really isn't worth much. If a house, car, paycheck, or even a soda and fries isn't super-sized it's crummy or second-rate. The smaller sized object has been relegated to insignificant or unsatisfactory. Our lives have become obsessed with size, and quantity over quality.
When God sets out to do something He doesn't really care so much about numbers or size. In fact, many times in the Bible we see examples of only one, or two people accomplishing mighty things for God: Gideon (Judges 6:11-14); Samson (Judges 15:14,15); Jonathan (1 Samuel 14:13, 14).
Even the spreading of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire was carried out by a small band of apostles. Do you recall how the Lord trimmed Gideon's army down from 32,000 men to 300? Once again, God felt that in that particular situation smaller was better (Judges 7:1-7).
I use these illustrations to point out how much God delights in demonstrating His power through impressive human endeavor as opposed to sheer size or mass. The key ingredients that provided the motivation and passion for these individuals was: faith and commitment.
The same applies to us today. Yes, we Christians can do many things using sheer numbers and volume. But without faith and commitment to God it has no true meaning. The benefit of bigness comes only when our faith and commitment is in proportion to our numbers.
In the end, if an individual or organization lacks faith and comittment to God; He cannot use us to execute His objectives for our benefit. The God of this universe has wonderful things in store for us. Let the magnitude of your faith and comittment, not portion determine how you fit into His plan.
Scripture: Proverbs 16:3; Matthew 22:37; James 4:8; James 4:3; 2 Peter 1:5
Prayer: Holy Father, though the work ahead may be too much for my strength and too complicated for my understanding; I know that nothing is beyond Your understanding or power. I trust in You to provide me with whatever I am lacking; and I promise to do my best to do Your will. Amen
May God bless you,
Meredith
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.