Self-denial, Afflictions, and a Thorny Bed

As all of you know, life is a marathon, not a 100-meter dash! If you
are not having troubles today then wait until tomorrow.

Some of us may be shocked when we first arrive on the mission field or
the first month of marriage or the first year of our birth or adopted
child. Things that were suppose to be so wonderful, blessed and easy
become difficult. We rejoice at the birth of our little child and yet
they are sickly. We get married and find out our mate does not agree
with us on everything; we arrive on the field enthusiastic in serving
God and we find we have to work with a bunch of grumpy, inhospitable
missionaries that appear to have no vision, or we get sick, and people
we come to minister to don't seem to really like us.

The world would say give the child back, get a divorce, or leave the
field and go back to where people like you. Good questions to ask
ourselves are: "What will happen to our mate if don't love and care
for them, our children if we don't nurture and train them, and what
will happen to the needy pastors or street children or the church in
the country in which we have been called to serve if we pack up and
leave?"

Let me share three quotes which might encourage all of us in our walk with God:

1. Matthew Henry, one of my favorite British pastors who died in 1714,
made an excellent comment regarding Luke 6:40: "Christ's followers
cannot expect better treatment in the world than their Master had.
Let them not promise themselves more honor or pleasure in the world
than Christ had. Let each live a life of labor and self-denial as his
Master, and make himself a servant of all; let him stoop, and let him
toil, and do all the good he can, and then he will be a complete
disciple."

2. Psalm 66:11-12: "You (God) laid an oppressive burden upon our
loins... yet You brought us out into a place of abundance." Charles
Spurgeon said, "We often forget that God lays our afflictions upon us;
if we remembered this fact, we should more patiently submit to the
pressure which now pains us."

3. J.I. Packer said the Puritans teach us much of the love of God:
"...that it is a love that redeems, converts, sanctifies, and
ultimately glorifies sinners, and that Calvary was the one place in
human history where it was fully and unambiguously revealed, and that
in relation to our own situation, we may know for certain that nothing
can separate us from that love (Romans 8:38), although no situation in
this world will ever be free from flies in the ointment and thorns in
the bed."

I trust the above will encourage you to persevere. Keep your mate,
love your child, and make a long-term commitment to the country that
He has called you to for His glory!

It is always too early to give up, walk away or quit!