God wants us to trust Him in whatever circumstance we may be facing. I, for one, can be a little hard-headed in this department. Fortunately, when we don’t learn what we need to learn the first time, the Lord will send us back to class. He is our master educator and, for me, the 2020 travel season was an unwelcome (yet much needed) classroom.
The plan for 2020 was to get as much ministry work done as we could in the winter months. Our first event was scheduled in March, which was to lead worship in the Holy Land.
Then came Covid.
At first, I jumped on board with all the virtual activities. They provided a solid solution to our temporary circumstances. But it did not take me long to realize that I am a face-to-face kind of girl. The days passed, then weeks, then months dragged on, and after eight months of online events, I decided to reach out to pastors across the country to see where they were in terms of having guests. We received more “yes” responses than expected and headed out on a three-month ministry tour.
On the first night, we rolled into an RV park at 12:30 a.m. and were greeted by a woman at the gate who eagerly welcomed us in. In all our motorhome travels, never has there been someone on duty in the wee hours of the morning. I honestly believe the Lord offered this as an early assurance that He and His angels were a step ahead and would be watching over us. God was with us.
But what about when things didn’t go our way?
The next day we found ourselves in the repair shop dealing with our first RV issue. A shop (who had never worked on motorhomes) was able to take us in, only because the Texas gas rigs had been closed down in that area. Plus, the part we needed was in stock. God was with us. This was the first of eight repair stops. Yet even though God was faithful and always sent us someone to help along with the needed parts, I still managed to eke out the words, “I just want to go home.”
How many of us just want to go home? How many of us have said, “Come, Lord Jesus. Enough is enough.”
What gave me pause and helped me keep going were the words from Esther 4:14, “We are here for such a time as this.” Plus, no one promised the journey would be easy. Psalm 23 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for You are with me.” It doesn’t say, yea though I walk around the valley…..”
Sometimes, I like to think that serving God should get easier, or that as a Christian I should never have to face the rain (especially because of what I do). But it has been the opposite and for a purpose. Why? Because we must have endurance to run the race that God has set before us and easy doesn’t make us strong. Easy only makes us need easy. The enemy sure isn’t going to give us a break.
I’m certain God uses the small mountains to prepare us for the bigger ones. We can choose to sit down when the next big mountain comes and say, “Impossible,” or we can remember all the times God has been with us and that His grace will carry us over the next ridge.
When we choose to take on the next mountain, we’ll find that it is in the hardest part of the climb where we learn the most about ourselves. Trials have a way of exposing what lives inside the heart.
During our most recent challenges, a couple questions have risen to the surface: “Am I willing to serve Christ if I am uncomfortable?” and “How surrendered am I in my call to fulfill His purposes?” That thing Paul speaks about, being “content whatever the circumstances” (Phil 4:11), is no small thing. Truth be told, I’m a creature of comforts girl. I want to have a working heater and a bed where my feet don’t hang off the end. I like pretty things and for my world to be as predictable as possible.
But, serving always seems to escape my tidy frames and it leads me into a place where I have to die to all things “self,” pick up my cross, and follow Jesus. Whenever things seem hard, I only need to look unto Jesus and realize that He stayed the course all the way to His final climb at Calvary.
Hebrews 12:1-2 speaks of this race of faith by telling us, “Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has set down at the right hand of the Father.”
Jesus could see down the road and the payoff was huge. It was worth the climb… the pain… the discomfort. He did what He did to glorify His Father and defeat darkness, but He also did it for love. For you. Friend, He chose you. Do you choose Him? Will you climb for Him?
A similar charge has been given to us in Galatians 6:9 which says, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” And please do not misunderstand me here, this is not about earning salvation. We are saved by grace and not works. I am speaking about living a life of gratitude and moving on from simply enjoying the benefits of God’s love to serving others through things like discipleship. The cost is hefty, but the payoff is priceless. I’ve come to understand that victory and struggle walk side by side. If we wait for there to be no struggle before we claim victory, we’ll be waiting a long time. There may be breakdowns, but watching people have spiritual breakthroughs is nothing short of victorious.
My hope in sharing my story is that you are encouraged, strengthened and reminded that:
God is with you. He has set angels at the gate on your behalf. You can dwell on the breakdown or that the repair was conducted in record time. Psalm 91:11 says, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Trust that God is always one step ahead of you.
You are here for such a time as this. Do not give up on your assignments just because they get hard. When we place hardship in the hands of the enemy, when we respond his way, he multiplies it. Fear, despair, doubt, and all other kinds of things rise up. But when we place our mountains in the hands of God, when we respond His way, He uses it to strengthen us for the next battle, and He reveals why being a Christian matters to all those who are watching.
Courageously face what trials expose in your heart. We would not know the rough edges that exist within us without the trials of life exposing them. Growth is a gift from God and as hard as they are, we need to welcome His lessons.
And lastly,
Make time for God every single day. In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “You cannot be with a strong God, without becoming strong yourself.“ John 15:5 also tells us, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” We have heard it a thousand times before, I know. Yet this is a fundamental need that we must protect. Our ability to endure comes from the depth of our fellowship. The purpose of John’s message in John 15:5 is to show that anything good we do is not based on human ability, but by way of His Spirit, wisdom and provision.
May God bless you as you endure for what has eternal value. He is with you and no matter the perceived outcome, God always wins. As John 16:33 assures us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”
