“That you are not
consciously falling behind or lacking in any spiritual endowment or Christian
grace [the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in
your souls by the Holy Spirit], while you wait and watch [constantly living in
hope] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and [His] being made visible to
all. And He will establish you to the
end…” -1 Cor. 1:7,8a AMP
“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift
as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” -1 Cor. 1:7
NIV
When
I was in my early twenty’s I used to sit amazed at the stories missionaries
shared in church of what it was like on the mission field. By the time they were finished sharing I was
so enthused that I wished I could get out on that mission field too. It did not take me very long to think being a
missionary was not for me though, actually about 10 minutes! When I started reviewing what the missionary
went through, the hardships, the dwindling support, and being so far from home
I reasoned that it just was not for me.
You see, I listened to the voice of reason instead of the Holy Spirit.
I
listened to that voice over and over again for at least ten years. Things changed in the spring of 1987
though. I was going through a very rough
time in my life. I had started crying
out to God, begging Him to get me out of the rut I was in. It was not long before God put me in a
situation where I had the opportunity to discuss my frustrations with a Pastor
friend of mine. We prayed about them and
then visited for a few minutes afterwards.
He asked me if I had heard about what his son just finished doing. I told him I had not. He stated that David had sold all his ski
equipment and used the money to go on a short-term mission. I pondered this on the way home and
throughout that next day. You see, God
is so faithful to answer us when we cry out to Him. Through a simple conversation between friends
He put a spark in me that completely changed my life, and more importantly, my
point-of-view.
Over
the next few months I found myself actually considering going on a short term
mission. How could I do it? I had only a couple of hundred dollars in the
bank so it was beyond my financial means, but I kept sensing and anticipating
that it would all work out. God was
fanning the spark He put in me and a little fire of believing the impossible as
possible was born. I really made it a
matter of prayer and shared it with an elderly friend of mine who agreed with
me in prayer. Then I had a dream of
being on an airliner and coming into a landing approach to an island. I shared this with my elderly friend and we
both thought it could be I was meant to go to mission school in Kona, Hawaii. I still could not see how it was
possible. I would have to give up a good
paying job and leave all my friends and church family. Let me assure you, though, God is faithful!
To
make a long story short, within five months He took the spark of possibility He
had planted in me to a full fire and the stronger the fire became the stronger
I listened to Him. He then prompted me
to go to mission school in Salem,
Oregon and provided the financial
means to do so. My short term mission training in reading His
Word, prayer, spiritual warfare, and sharing the gospel has turned into a
lifetime habit and I continue to grow stronger in and closer to the Lord. So what happened? My original point-of-view was that I did not
think I was able, have enough money, and was afraid of trying something new
because I thought I would fail, so I did not try. God helped me see that on my own I was not
able: He became my ability. He
showed me I did not have the money: He
gave me His money (and let me tell you, His bank holdings are limitless!) He took my fear and exchanged it with His
courage. God exchanged my point-of-view
with His.
Are
you struggling with something you think impossible? Look at it through God’s point-of-view!
“He can’t make our weakness
His strength unless we allow Him access to it by a committed, daily,
relationship with Him.” -T. Baker
