Mission is God’s idea, not ours. It was Jesus who commanded us to make disciples of all nations, in fact He says ‘preach the gospel to all creation’ (Mark 16:15).
Thankfully, his command does not come without a promise: He has said ‘Surely I will be with you’ (Matt 28:20). He is with us because He knows that without Him we can do nothing. We can’t save anyone, we can’t heal anyone, we can’t give hope to anyone alone. What we can do is point people to the One who can do all these things. The wonder of His promise can be summed up with three words: presence, protection and provision.
We are never alone. He is always there to help. I sometimes feel like I can’t face the day, that there is too much to do, I am fearful of being inadequate. At times like these Isaiah 41:10 is a great verse to bring to mind. I can rest in God’s assurances not to fear, to know that He will strengthen and help me:
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
We are often risk-adverse in the West but we may need to take risks to reach the world with the Gospel. I often reflect on what the apostle Paul faced as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:26-27. I will paraphrase what he said as is relevant for my situation:
‘I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger in buses, in danger on motorbikes, in danger from bandits, in danger from terrorists, I have suffered sunburn, dust, heat, and illness. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food.’
In the midst of all these situations He is there as my rock and shield. God reminds me, ‘the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night’ (Psalm 121:6).
If I can remind myself this is God’s work, that he loves the children we are trying to reach far more than I do, then I can be at peace with whatever He allows or disallows. Whether the educational authorities give us permission or not to run courses, I can be assured that this is His plan. I am learning the secret of being content in every situation: I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
I am seeking to mobilise churches to reach children in their local primary school through using Bible lessons. I print lessons in Ouagadougou, then transport them to the churches by taxi motorbike and bus. There is a wide open door for this ministry: the growth in primary schooling over the last twenty years has been phenomenal. There are now over 2 million children in primary education. The harvest is plentiful indeed, and the labourers few. The opportunity to have such a positive influence in so many others’ lives is so huge. Is God calling you?
With all this in mind please pray for me for God’s strength, for health and protection. Please also pray for grace, as it is easy to become impatient and get frustrated instead of trusting God in every situation.
