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Nestled in the mountains of the most densely populated island in the world, there sits a humble church. Its pastor lives a busy, selfless life, driving his rusty car up winding roads twenty kilometers one way to reach the small village from his home in the nearby city below. He has poured his life into this village and its people. Everyone, Muslim and Christian, waves and smiles on his approach.
It’s he who modeled to our family what faithfulness truly looks like. Faithfulness when there is no home assignment or even a periodic family getaway to a local hotel to look forward to. Faithfulness when you see families renounce their belief in Christ to go back to the majority religion or going years without seeing one convert. Faithfulness when your wife is diagnosed with cancer and you can’t afford surgery or treatments, but you trust God and continue to serve and encourage anyway.
We also watched our pastor and our friend reap rewards for his faithfulness that blew our western minds! We watched God provide when things looked impossible. His wife had that surgery! We saw hearts changed, families transformed, lives made new. Faithfulness.
Our friend reminded us that faithfulness does not always equal immediate results. It’s easy in our western mindset to believe that when we are faithful, results will immediately follow. But let us not forget about the prophet Jeremiah. Or even Joseph! They, too, were faithful to what God called them to do, yet the results were not all sunshine and roses!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we read of those who seemed to bear fruit yet were NOT faithful. Think of Jonah, who was practically forced to do what God asked of him. Still, his message caused a big “splash” in the land of Nineveh, resulting in a city-wide revival!
Friend, God knows your heart! His desire for you is that you are faithful where He has you right now. Keep trusting Him to show you what faithfulness looks like in your current season, even if you don’t see the fruit you’d expect!
Our key verse today hits on a common stressor for global women. Living day to day alongside unbelievers, especially in a cross-cultural context, can be extremely taxing. It can also feel lonely, unsatisfying, and unfruitful. Yet this kind of interaction—learning to live as neighbors, walking through the humbling process of learning a new language and adapting to a new culture, parenting, living out the marriage relationship—these are the very contexts that open up opportunities to prepare soil and plant seeds of the gospel in people’s hearts! In what ways, big or seemingly small, have you (or others) seen God use these opportunities for his glory?
During our time in Asia Pacific, we had the opportunity to orient many new co-workers to the field. It was amazing to watch them rub shoulders with our national friends. One very tangible way these new workers impacted unbelievers around them was simply by being learners. When the people realized that these Americans/Westerners really wanted to humble themselves and sit and take the time to learn another language and culture, and that they were willing to be dependent on their neighbors and local friends to do that, this really impacted our local community. Our local friends commented over the years that they were so much more receptive to hearing about the gospel because of the testimony of those who humbly lived before them, being willing to daily live and learn beside them as neighbors and friends. Takeaway: Don’t underestimate those first months and years of learning language and adjusting to life overseas!! Seeds are being planted for eternity!!