Willingness
Early this year I read really, really interesting book called We Died Before We Came Here by Emily Foreman about her and her family's journey as missionaries in Northern Africa in a Muslim country.
This book was extremely challenging and very powerful, and I've picked out some thoughts and inspiration from this book for the next couple of weeks for us.
Responding to God's Call Beyond Comfort
Stephen and Emily Foreman felt very much called to go and share the gospel in countries that didn't know it. Many of their friends would say to them, “but there's so much need here in the USA. Why would you go across the world with your small children to do this?”
But Emily says this on page 6: “We couldn't shake God's call on our hearts. We kept thinking about Oswald J Smith's words: “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice while there remains someone who has not heard it once.””
Now that really unsettled me as I read that! Because here at church we preach the gospel to the same people most of the time, people who've heard it many times. And I wonder if God isn't calling us to have a heart for people who haven't heard.
A Heart for Those Who Have Not Heard
There's a lovely line in a modern song called May the People's Praise You which we sing here at him Emseni. It says, “may the seeds of mercy grow in us for those who have not heard.”
And I think this should be our prayer - that God will give us a greater desire to reach those who don't know the truth about Jesus because what change it could bring in their lives, just as it has in your life and mine.
And so the Foremans left everything behind, and took their young family and went to go and do a bunch of good work in North Africa. Emily says after five weeks, she was ready to go back home where there was air conditioning, where there was ice cream, where there was an easy existence.
Willingness Over Strength
And she realised she had a choice to make. She could either go back home to the comfort or she could go through the uncertain door, which she says opened to a narrow, scary and uncertain, yet far more fulfilling and purposeful path that didn't end. Then she said “I didn't have the courage it would take, nor the strength. But God assured me that my own courage and strength is not what He wants. He wants only my willingness.”
And so, are you willing to go where God sends you? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone once in a while and share Jesus' love with people who haven't heard? I pray that we'll all go as far as we can for God.
And as I'll explain for the rest of this week, this doesn't necessarily mean Bible bashing, but it means loving with the love of Jesus. Point is, are you willing to go where God wants you to go? Because even more than your courage, God will work with your willingness.
In Russia one day, a missionary’s simple prayer for God to use him led to a powerful encounter on a train.