Faith in God when life is difficult. 3

God has a number of reasons for using “all things” of our experience, the outcome of which will be for the development of our faith and trust in Him. The following points show the variety of purposes He uses. 

The “all things” conform us into the likeness of Jesus

Paul gives a key reason in the verses following the “all things” we experience in Romans 8:28.  Paul tells us in verse 29 that those who are in a relationship with God as Father have been “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” (v.29) He then goes on to say that the ultimate aim is that “those he called, he also justified” (v.30) so that the final end will be glorification.  

His primary purpose is to see His children grow and become more like His Son. God will use the trials and difficulties, the “all things” of life, to achieve that end. It is as we respond in faith to God, trusting Him with the outcome, that God is able to work things into our lives that will bring about that conformity to His Son. We will see how that works in the following ways.

The “all things” includes God’s discipline for our good

God is using the ‘all things’ as part of his discipline and correction, for He desires us to learn, grow and mature into the likeness of His Son.  Hebrews 12 tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves and accepts as sons and daughters (v.6). It’s the evidence that we are loved by the Father. Then in verse 10 the writer tells us that “God disciplines us for our good, that we might share his holiness.” The benefit of this discipline is that it will “produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (v.11) So one of the purposes of the ‘all things’ is God’s work of discipline in us, His training of us, so that we will grow and mature spiritually as part of a conforming work into the likeness of His Son.

The “all things” prove our faith and trust in God

Another important reason for God’s use of “all things” is to test our faith and trust in God. James 1:2-3 tells us that we should rejoice in our trials because they prove not only the genuineness of our faith but develop spiritual maturity which will lead to us being perfect and complete. This will be finally true when we see Jesus as He is (1 John3:2). Without the testing of our faith, our trust and dependence upon God will not be given the opportunity to grow. 

The “all things” guide us into blessing

When we are faced with hard and difficult times, we may wonder where God is in all that we are going through. Naomi felt that when she returned to Bethlehem after having lost both husband and two sons in the land of Moab (Ruth 1:20-21). She returns to Bethlehem a discouraged woman, conscious that their move to Moab had only resulted in loss for her. However, God was still there in control causing her to return to Bethlehem. There He leads Ruth in such a way that she meets Boaz, and through that will bring the blessing of God’s provision and security in a husband for Ruth. This will lead ultimately to the birth of the Lord Jesus. Although Naomi suffered much initially, eventually it resulted in a good outcome as God worked His purposes in their difficult situation. Job is another example.  We may find it difficult to trust God in periods of suffering, but our faith in God will ultimately be rewarded in ways that will prove best for us in the long term. 

The “all things” will bring glory to God by our witness

As we respond in faith and trust in God in the “all things” of life, God is glorified. It becomes a witness that will attract others to God. In 1 Peter 2:12 Peter says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” This is followed up in chapter 3:14-15, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” People are watching how we respond to our difficult and trying times. If our responses honour God and we continue to trust even when all seems to falling apart around us, people will want to know why, and this leads to Peter’s exhortation to be “always prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”(v.15)  It is a counterintuitive fact that it is the places where the church is persecuted that seem to be where the church is growing. Perhaps one reason why the church in the West is not as it should be is because we haven’t been put to the test of suffering in the way that our brothers and sisters in places like China have faced.

These five purposes encourage us to trust that God is in control and has our good at heart. Without the “all things” to deal with our faith won’t have any reason to trust God.  Dr. James Dobson has said, “The removal of adversity from our lives would eventually lead to the demise of Christianity on this earth.” Through our experiences of our Father’s goodness to us in the ‘all things’, our faith and trust in Him will grow as we become conformed to Christ Jesus.

Faith in God when life is difficult. 2

There are two kinds of promises in the Bible, conditional, and unconditional promises.  Unconditional promises are ones in which God has promised to do something irrespective of how we may respond. An example of an unconditional promise is Hebrews 13:5b: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  On the other hand, the conditional promise has a certain criterion which needs to be true of us to have the assurance that God will keep the promise.  Romans 8:28 is a conditional promise because it says that God will bring about what is promised to “those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Why is this promise specifically directed towards those who love God?

Earlier in the chapter Paul has been referring to those who have the Spirit of sonship, that we are children, and “heirs and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17)  “We are eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (v.23)   This is what we are hoping for, and waiting for.  Furthermore, the Spirit helps us in our weakness enabling us in our praying even interceding for us in our weaknesses. (v.27)

It is in this context of a new relationship of sonship with God that we have the promise in verse 28. 

To come back to the question we asked earlier as to why?  This promise is directed towards those who love God, it is because we are now his children, and He is our Father.  As Father, His love for us will be seen in His desire to bless us with what is good.  As Jesus reminds us, “your Father in heaven [will] give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).  This is why when we pray to Him as our Father in our times of difficulties, we can trust and rest assured that He has it all under control, and will use the “all things” for our good. 

The “all things” may be tough and hard to deal with at times, but we know that He will be with us, and He knows how much we can take and will only allow what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), and we can rest assured that “The Lord watches over all who love him” (Psalm 145:20).

            What an encouragement to know that because of this relationship with God as our Father, we can commit all things to Him because we are His children.  We can have this confidence in Him because we love Him, just as we know He loves us (1 John 4:19).  And as we believe and actively trust God in those difficult times, our faith in God can grow as we experience His love and care in bringing good out of the trials that we go through.

            Next time, we will look at some of the different objectives that God has in bringing out ‘good’ in the ‘all things’ of life. 

Faith in God when life is difficult. 1

Faith in God when life is difficult.  1

            Many of us have faced hard and difficult times during this lockdown from Covid-19.  For some of us, it is the stress of loneliness and not meeting people, for others it is balancing work at home with home school, or the financial implications of the situation, which can lead to anxieties about the future.

            How can we trust God in these situations of life?  Is there anything that gives us the confidence to choose to believe that God is in control?  As someone has said, “Faith is not a feeling.  It is a choice to trust God even when the road ahead seems uncertain.”[1]  We will look at some verses that give us peace, confidence and hope in life’s difficult times.

            The first is one of the most quoted verses we hear when life is proving difficult, but is a verse that we need to use wisely when helping others in their difficult times.   What they need is empathy, a listening ear, and a walking along beside them through those times.  However, this verse can prepare us for those times when we find ourselves struggling with life.  The verse is Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This can be a hard verse to believe but it is one of many promises that we can use to strengthen our faith in God.  Often we are impatient and want to see how it is all going to work out immediately.  If we could see the end there would be no need for faith.  This verse encourages us to put our trust in God when the going is tough believing that the end, whenever that might be, will be the very best. 

To be forewarned is to be forearmed for those eventualities.  In 1 Kings 20:22 a prophet went to King Ahab and told him, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again."  King Ahab would have been foolish to have ignored that advice.  So too, God is helping us to see that we can prepare our hearts for the all things that we face in life, the good and the bad.  How we prepare is important. 

            One of the ways to prepare our hearts is to take in God’s word.  God’s word can reassure our hearts that He can be a trusted place of refuge.  His word strengthens our hearts so that our heart can rest in the knowledge that He knows and cares for us.  One example is Psalms 18:1-2  “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Words like these can be a great comfort to us. 

            Another way to prepare our hearts is to rest in the promises of God.  Here in Romans 8:31-39 Paul reassure us with a promise that can give confidence for the future.  Paul puts it like this; no matter what may happen, whether it is “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (v.35)  “I am convinced that neither death nor life,…” or anything else “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(v.38)  What a comfort to know that we can believe this promise because no matter what may happen, we will be safe. What an encouragement to know that Jesus is also interceding for us. (v.34).  There are many other promises that we can take to heart and rest in as we believe that God will bring good out of the ‘all things’ which we face in life.  God may not work things out how we think or would like, and we may have to wait, but we can believe and rest our hearts in God to keep his word.

            To be continued.

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[1] On Facebook, Mindful Christianity Today, TobyMac#speaklife

Lessons learned in the hard times. Lesson 1

            God uses hard times, difficulties, pain and unusual situations to teach us things that will help us grow in our faith in God.  However, we can be quite slow in learning these things that He wants to reveal to us and patiently keeps drawing them to our attention.

            Over the years God has been teaching me three key lessons which can probably be applied to many situations that we face in life.  The first was learnt in our first year of marriage when we were on a literature team in Eire for fourteen months. One of my big concerns was how will I manage as a mission worker in Japan to which we were heading after our time in Ireland.  I was looking at senior mission workers that I knew and saw all the things they were doing and was quite fearful that I wouldn’t be able to do all they were doing.  While on the team, I had some free time while the others were taking a typing course.  I had been told that 2 Corinthians was Paul’s hand book for mission workers, so I thought that would be a good book to study. 

            This book certainly revealed Paul’s heart, his motives and experiences of God as he carried out God’s call on his life.  I learnt a lot and the study was a blessing to me because it helped me to see that it was God who was fitting me for my role as a mission worker.  In fact, it was because of Him that I could be a mission worker at all and do the work that He had for me to do.  I learnt that every area of my life was because of Him and I contributed nothing to the equation.

            God was there at my salvation.  It was God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," [making] his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).  Then in the next verse Paul tells us that “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”(ch.4:7)  Paul tells us that our confidence is in God because it is He who is working.  Then he says in chapter 3:5-6,  “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.  He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant …”  Then in those well known verses in chapter 12, Paul had a ‘thorn’ that he felt was hindering his work for God and so asks God to take it away.  But what was God’s answer?   "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (12:9-10)  So Paul thanked God for his weaknesses, and it is the same with us for when we are weak we too need to rely all the more on God’s grace and power.

            This was an important lesson to learn, that really all aspects of our lives are under his control and He is working out His purposes through us as we trust and allow Him that freedom to work in us.  We have the assurance that when we do this God can and will use us to His glory.  In Philippians 1:6, we are reminded that, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  And further, it is “God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”  (Philippian 2:13)  A burden was lifted by this truth – if God calls he will also equip and provide all that we need to carry out His purpose and will for our lives and so with greater confidence I was able to leave for Japan in 1976.

There was one further aspect to this lesson that happened during this time in Ireland which helped me to see clearly that I could trust God with the work that He would give me to do when we got to Japan.  As it was a team situation, living together for the 14 months did add pressure on our relationships, not least between the director and the team members.  As team leader I felt responsible for the care and well being of the team as we faced hard situations that we all were struggling with.  How do I deal with this?  I spoke with the director and trying to resolve the issues that we sensed were present but without any apparent change to the situation.  I felt that I should not be defeated by this but have victory in this situation.  In struggling with this over some three months or so, the Lord one day made it very clear to me that he had already given me the victory but that I was trying to gain victory with my own effort.  I repented of my unbelief and self effort and submitted my life to God for his victory already received.  The problem didn’t go away but my heart attitude was changed and I was given the grace to accept it and experience God’s peace in the situation.    

This was another step in helping me to realize that I needn’t fear about going to Japan because God would be with me, helping, enabling and carrying out the work He wanted to do through me.  I didn’t need to be like other mission workers but I could be myself and do what God had called me to do.  This was an amazing release. 

By David Dexter

Lessons learned in the hard times. Lesson 2

            Last time we considered that when God calls he also equips and enables us to do what he wants us to do.  This next key lesson took much longer for me to learn.

            We went out to Japan trusting God to provide for our daily needs and God used many ways and many people to provide for us.  Over sixteen years we saw our Father generously give us all that we needed. A verse that means a lot to me is Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  This is a great promise and although conditional in that we need to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, we can believe that God will provide for our needs as we desire to do his will. 

            However, our Father needed to continually remind me of these lessons and to take me deeper into trusting in His word.  We returned to UK in 1992 for educational reasons.  In a miraculous way we had been provided with a house in Swindon a few years earlier.  From 1991, our two oldest stayed with friends in Hereford where they entered secondary school mid way.  We felt that as the girls were already settling into a school there it would be better if they stayed and we moved to Hereford.  It was at a time when the housing market was flat and there was very little movement.  This was a challenge to our faith.  We had arrived back in June and we had hoped to move before the new school year started in the September. 

            There are many things I could say about that move, but one is that the Lord worked out the schooling matter in a quite remarkable way.  All the primary schools were full.  We had an appointment soon after school started in September with the Head of a primary school.  At the start of the interview the school situation hadn’t changed and there were no places.  During the interview a message came through to say that one of the girls had moved away with her family and we were offered the vacancy! Consequently, that opened up the way for us to make a renewed offer on a house in Hereford.  We home schooled the youngest for one more year but the others had been provided for. 

            Some months had passed and income had dried up and it was difficult finding a job or retrain.  We had a mortgage and five young people at home.  Eventually God brought me to that point where I just had to come to Him and take Matthew 6:33 and trust our Father to keep his word as He had promised.  I prayed, “This is your responsibility to provide for our needs as you promised.  You brought us back to the UK and we are completely in your hands.  It is our desire to live and serve you in whatever way you want.”  Through this experience our loving Father helped me see that I should not be looking to others to provide for us which is what I had been doing but rather look to Him. I discontinued actively looking for a job after that and trusted the Lord to provide work or meet our needs in other ways. 

            These lessons don’t just suddenly happen, rather God was preparing me through many steps to get to this point where I needed to act in response to what God was teaching me.  I have many notes in my journal over the previous months that show that I was being challenged by many situations leading to that decision of trusting God with finances.  For example, one entry made on the day we had our interview with the Head of the school states, “I have been thinking and praying this morning about the whole question of trusting God rather than trying to do things in my own way.  I felt perhaps our low offers and trying to get the house for the cheapest amount was my effort to try and do it in my way.”   We then went ahead with an increased offer on the house.  On the day the papers for the mortgage were being filled in we received a very substantial gift which was totally unexpected.  What an amazing encouragement to know that when we step out in faith trusting God, He is there to provide, often in surprising ways!  

            The second lesson of three is that God can be trusted with our finances, and as we seek his kingdom and righteousness first, we can depend on God to provide for our needs (not our wants).  For the following twelve years or so that we were in Hereford and then Newent, God always provided for the needs we had when bills were due or expenses needed to be met.  I found a Journal entry from two years after this which states, “It’s not whether we will follow God’s way if He provides but follow God’s way because it is God’s way and leave the responsibility to Him to provide.”  No, it hasn’t always been easy, and there are times we have worried, but in the end, trusting God with this area of our lives proves to be the best way to avoid the anxiety and stress that can come when we think that it is dependent upon us to provide.  It is an on going decision to keep trusting God as we are often tempted to go back to trusting our own means to provide for our needs.  As we trust Him daily His peace fills our hearts and we can rest assured that we are in good hands.    

What is faith really?

            Faith is a keystone truth that the Reformation once again brought to the forefront of our Christian lives and experience.   The clarion call of Luther and the other reformers was that it was  “…by grace you have been saved through faith.”  But faith is not just an important part of our salvation.  As Paul reminds us in Romans 1:16 we are told that “…the gospel,… is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, … For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."”  Faith is more than just part of the entry point into the Christian life.  It is also a significant part of the on going continuing life of the believer.  But what is faith?

            As mentioned in my previous blog, I had been seeking to find the answer to victory over the problems that I was facing in Ireland and had been praying for more faith so that I could overcome my problems.  I had been looking at faith as though it were something that I could top up with when I didn’t have enough, like filling up a car with more fuel.  I thought, the more faith I have the more power I will have with God.  However, this was a mistaken understanding of what faith is.  Firstly, faith is not something that can be measured on a faith meter.  If I feel my faith is weak then I need to do something to increase its power as though it were possible do something about it.  Secondly, I was praying for faith and so overcome the problem by myself, as though faith was the key that enabled me to do what I was unable to do myself.  If I had enough faith I could overcome the world!  However, Jesus’ comment was that if you have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed you could move mountains (Matthew 17:20).  Further, Jesus added that a mustard seed was the smallest of seeds (Matthew 13:32).  The point is not the amount of faith that we have or don’t have but where that faith is being place – God or me!

            In Ephesians 2:8-9 we are told that our salvation is because of grace and faith. It is not based on what we do but rather is a gift of God.  If it is a gift, then the glory goes to the giver and not to the recipient of that gift because of anything in the recipient.

            In Ireland my understanding of faith increased significantly as a result of a testimony by one of the team. He described the experience of his search for God like climbing a mountain.  He was feeling discouraged because he didn’t seem to be making any progress in his search for God.  It was at this point that he describes his experience like falling over the edge of a precipice.  His fall was broken by a branch that was sticking out of the side of the mountain.  As he assessed his situation he realized that he couldn’t do anything to save himself.  He was relying on the branch as he hung on but realized that he couldn’t trust it indefinitely.  In desperation he cried out to God, “God! If you are there, save me!”   God in his mercy and grace answered him.  “Let go and trust me to save you.”  Faith in God will let go.  But why?

            What is going on in this exchange?  The team member was in a desperate situation.  He was relying of the branch but realized that he could not trust the branch for ever.  Furthermore, there was nothing he could do to save himself.  So he cries out to God.  This is something that God is pleased to respond to.  When we are at our wits ends and there is nothing that we can do but acknowledge our weakness to God, God responds to that humble request. 

            Secondly, what are we to make of God’s response to ‘let go’ and trust him to save us?  Of course, the team member is using this story to illustrate what happened to him spiritually.  However, as we consider faith’s response to God what is clear is that it is a response to a promise of God.  If God had, even in this physical situation actually spoken those words, and we were sure that it was God, then faith in God’s word would obey and let go.  Why?  Joshua reminded the people of Israel in Joshua 23:14 that God keeps his promises.  “…you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.”  Joshua could say at the end of his life that God was faithful.  Every one of his promises he has kept.  We are reminded in Numbers 23:19, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?”  In fact “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18).  God would not be a god to be trusted if he could not be relied upon to keep his word.  That God does keep his promises is reassuring and the basis upon which we can commit our lives to Him.  As we experience this promise keeping God in the circumstances of life our faith is strengthened to trust him with even bigger situations as time goes along.  We might find that what we are being asked to do is something that is outside of our comfort zone or beyond our ability to carry out.  God will not change but will continue faithful, even in situations that seem impossible.  When the disciples were surprised by Jesus’ comments about how hard it was for the rich to be saved he told them "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).  If he makes a promise he is also able to keep it fully.  This was the message to Mary when the angel came and told her about the child she would conceive.  “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).  What a promise!

            Faith, therefore, is not something that we obtain when we need to do something but rather it is what the Holy Spirit does in our lives that causes us to trust God and believe what he has said.  It is the Holy Spirit’s enabling that helps us to commit ourselves to God for what he has promised he will do for us.  My brother quoted Hudson Taylor in a letter to us recently.  It captures the essence of what we have been talking about here.  ‘I have learned not to trust in my faith but in God’s faithfulness’.

There is a further aspect of faith I recently came across while reading the book, Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase. This helps to give a complete and rounded understanding of faith. In this book, Jayson Georges has divided the book into two parts.  In the first part he elaborates on some of the cultural aspects of the story that have a bearing on how we should understand the cultural significance of the story.  In introducing his subject he touches upon our English word ‘faith’.  He points out that in our western culture we understand the word to be someone’s personal belief about something which reflects our individualistic values in our culture.  However in the Old Testament “an Israelite’s ‘faith’ is a commitment to their covenant obligations to honour Yahweh.”  Similarly in the New Testament the word translated ‘faith’ (Greek: pistis) suggests loyalty and fidelity to a relationship.  Biblical faith is not merely ‘belief about God,’ but ‘allegiance to God’ (Kindle Locations 72-78).  We in the West miss the relational aspect of ‘faith’.  This covenant relationship, this allegiance to God aspect of faith involves more that just belief.  It includes action or more precisely obedience to God’s word.  This is not to gain credit by what we do but rather because our response to our new relationship with God causes us to want to do what will please him because we love Him.  Jesus said to his disciples in the Upper Room, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  It is because we love him that WE WANT to keep his commandments.  This aspect of faith as seen in both the Old and New Testament carries with it a responsibility towards the new relationship that we have with God.  This is seen in our obedience to our loving heavenly Father.  I like the way the New Living Translation (NLT) puts Isaiah 26:8. “Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart's desire is to glorify your name.”  This summarizes perfectly the cultural meaning of the word ‘faith’.

So faith is that Holy Spirit induced attitude by which we trust God, believing His word as true and dependable and as a consequence acting upon that belief in God by our response of love to Him as seen in our obedience to His word.

All scripture quotations are taken from the ESV unless indicated.  English Standard Version Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, A Division of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA. All rights reserved.

The Bible text designated (NLT) is from HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION ®  Copyright © 1996, 2004, by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

When God calls He equips and enables – Part II

            The previous blog mentioned my lack of experience as a cause of concern and how the Lord opened a door for me to get practical experience and training in Dublin as I continued my preparations for service in Japan.

            We learn the most when times are hard and that was certainly the case in Ireland.  As newly weds we were suddenly thrust into communal living.  Initially this was as house parents to the ladies on the team!  Later in the year we moved into a house of men.  Not the best move for newly weds nor something we would advise now.  The Bible is clear in its advice to young men when they marry that their first year should be without undue responsibilities (Deuteronomy 24:5).      

            Among the many lessons that I learnt during that time, two stand out as key for me as our preparation progressed towards leaving for Japan.

            A big lesson the Lord taught me was the meaning of trust or faith in God.  These words can be interchanged readily.  Two things helped me in my understanding of this truth. 

One was my belief that I should be able to gain victory over the problems I was experiencing.  Try as hard as I might this elusive victory, whatever it was, was not becoming a reality in my life.  I prayed hard for God to give me this victory.  Perhaps it was that I didn’t have enough faith?  I prayed for more faith.  But the weeks and months passed and I didn’t seem to be making any progress with this problem.  What was wrong? 

The second thing which contributed to me ultimately finding this victory was the time I was given to do a Bible study.  As part of our team experience we were given the opportunity to take classes and our team decided that they wanted to learn to touch type.  I could already touch type having learnt it at school.  I was therefore given the opportunity to do other studies.  This proved pivotal in providing answers to the two key lessons that I needed to learn.

I had heard previously that 2 Corinthians was Paul’s missionary handbook.  So I thought that would be a good book to study for a missionary in preparation while the rest of the team were out at their class.  This proved to be God’s over ruling because the key lesson that I learnt from that study was that God is everything and has done everything.  From our salvation, our call, our sufficiency, our service, our spiritual gifts down to our final glory – all that we have and are now in Christ is all of God.  Furthermore, in our weakness God’s grace enables us to be strong.  This was a new revelation to me, and it gave me greater confidence in God that every aspect of my life was all part of his plan and provision.

This provided the answer to my first question – how do I get victory over my problems.  The very clear truth that came across to me was that I didn’t need to strive, need more faith or anything else that I could do to make it happen – God had already given me the victory.  I needed to believe it.  Because I had everything I needed for the situation I was facing.  I thanked God for the victory he had given me and left the problems with him.  The amazing thing that happened was that, in one sense, nothing happened!  The problem didn’t suddenly vanish.  It was still very much present, but what did happen was that God changed my attitude to the problem, so that it became more bearable.  It was as though I had a burden lifted from my heart.  I felt lighter in my spirit, and was able to cope with the problem until our time in the Republic of Ireland came to an end.

The answer to the second problem I had – can I really do the work of a missionary that I thought I was expected to do, was also answered.  If God has done everything for me as I discovered from my study of 2 Corinthians, then I don’t need to worry because if God calls me to a specific work, he will also equip me to be able to do it.  All I needed to do was trust Him and follow His leading and he would equip me to do it what he was leading me into.  This became a reality when I was thrown into the deep end when we moved from Kobe to Nobeoka in Kyushu. This was after our first term in Japan which had been spent mainly in language study.  The first six weeks or so that we were there I was asked to speak quite a number of times in Japanese, firstly at a camp and then in church.  Previous to this I had only spoken once every couple or so months but God is faithful and enabled me to do something I thought I would never be able to do. 

As a result of our time in the Republic of Ireland, God provided the answer to my biggest concern about serving him in Japan – can I meet the expectations of the mission field.  What God taught me instead was that I need not worry about expectations or whether I could do it, but rather as I trusted God He would guide and enable me to do everything He wanted me to do.  I needed to thank him and rest on His grace and power for all he was going to do in and through me.   

When God calls He equips and enables – Part I

            As I mentioned in my piece about my call to serve the Lord abroad, I had a number of concerns about becoming a missionary. The first was my lack of experience and ability to do what I felt those in Christian work should be doing. 

From the time I had spoken with the elders about my call to Japan and finally being sent out to Japan, God graciously taught me some important lessons.

            On the elders’ recommendation I went to a Bible school in New Milton in Hampshire run by Dr. A. Hudson.  This was a small Bible school which offered a one year course. Each term focused on a specific area of study.  The first term was Bible study, the second term was leadership, and the third term was missions.  I really benefited from time out to get into the word and to learn from Dr Hudson and other lecturers who taught the various subjects.  I particularly remember Mr. Webb-Peploe who took four sessions on personal evangelism.  His anecdotal class lectures with Biblical references were very helpful to me and I remember being challenged about my lack of experience in evangelism, and this was the impetus that prompted me to look at ways to meet this lack.  That was in the first term.  The studies in the Pastoral Epistles and on leadership in the second term too provided a good foundation for me as I prepared for service abroad.

            However, my biggest concern was how to overcome my inexperience in Christian service.  I did not feel that the third term on missions would benefit me much.  I felt I needed practical experience rather than the theory.  I saw three possible options open to me.  The first option was to decrease my working hours at the hospital and use the rest of the time to serve in the local church in whatever ways I could.  The problem with this option was that there wasn’t really anyone in my local church I felt who could mentor me and from whom I could receive training in the work of the church.  The second option was to go with a mission’s organization like GLO or OM, or something similar to Europe.  The experience would be good but the draw back was that I didn’t really feel I would get the most from the training because of my inability with the European languages.  The third option was to go to the Republic of Ireland where there was a Literature team called Ireland Outreach.  So rather than do the third term at the Bible school I ended up on the year team in Dublin, Ireland.

            By this time I was going out with the girl who was later to become my wife.  At the mid term break in the first term of the Bible school, we met up and during that time she mentioned that she had applied to go on the Ireland Outreach Team.  This came as rather a shock!  I hadn’t had any inkling that she had been thinking this way.  I did not want to give the impression that I was going to Ireland because she was going.  I wanted to be clear in my own mind and so for the next six weeks or so until the Christmas break I was much in prayer about it.  The application needed to be in by the beginning of January.  During the Christmas break I realized I needed to make a decision and soon.  So my first night at my parents’ home I asked the Lord to give me a clear indication the next day which way I should go.  I asked that if I was to go to Ireland then it would be drawn to my attention very clearly.  In the morning I came down stairs and mum was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.  After a few pleasantries she started to ask if I had heard about my younger brother’s plans to go on the summer team that following year in Ireland, not knowing that I was also thinking about Ireland Outreach.  I hadn’t heard that news but felt that this was the confirmation that I needed from the Lord.  So without further delay I filled out the application form and sent it off. 

The next problem that we needed to deal with was how we would cope with the strict boy/girl relationship rules on the team considering where we were in our relationship.  As a consequence I proposed to her that Christmas holiday and we made the decision to go to Dublin as a married couple.    

So we left for the Republic of Ireland as husband and wife and began the next stage in God’s preparations for the mission field.