I have an encouraging story for you from one of our TMT subscribers. It occurred to me that maybe others of you could use some encouragement too. (If you don't need it today, file this away--but not too far!)
Many subscribers have often encouraged me. This one is a former student of mine and a longtime friend.
Though he gave me permission to share this, I won't use his name because there are still some issues in his church and you never know when some unintended consequence of an innocent testimony may come back to bite you.
By the way, it's a sad situation isn't it when we have to worry about Christians "biting" each other? But it has been that way from the start. Paul had to warn even 1st Century believers not to devour one another (Gal 5.15).
Well, on with my story.
This friend of mine has pastored his present church for over ten years, and it was not too long into his tenure there that opposition arose. He and I often talked together over the years about how to handle some of the situations he encountered.
This dear brother always dealt gently and wisely with his adversaries, but he never compromised his biblical positions.
Anyway, I had not heard from him for several months (maybe a year or longer) when I got this email:
Hi Dr. Kinnebrew:
I enjoy your Tentmakertips when I get a chance to read them, but time is not always readily available.
Our church is doing ok and we have baptized 11 people in the last 2 months with 11 more waiting in the wings
(NOTE: I added the bold print and underline-jk)
I have no idea what happened, but after 10 years of struggle, the flood gates have opened and I have had many opportunities to share the Gospel. Praise the Lord!
I still have several contentious members who cause trouble in Business Meetings, etc. Guess you have to take the good with the bad. Have a great day in the Lord.
Isn't that great? I immediately got back to him and asked for more details. Here's his reply:
My wilderness has been off and on for 10 years, and I do not understand why the floodgates suddenly opened. It is obviously a complete work of God, because I have changed nothing as far as visitation or the presentation of the Gospel (EE).
It was like people were just waiting for someone to tell them the Truth. Our Lord does work in mysterious ways sometimes. I was ready to leave this church due to vocal enemies, but now I guess He wants me to stay. We will see!
Just think about it. Setting aside the debates about election and the eternal decrees of God, it appears that twenty-two people are going to be in Heaven who conceivably wouldn't be if my pastor friend had allowed discouragment to rule.
This is why I always want to be an encourager to you. There are eternal issues at stake!
Hey, there will always be opposition when you are doing the work of God.
When opposers come, you need to KNOW that you are where God wants you to be. The presence of difficulty does NOT mean you are in the wrong place. It may mean that you are right where God wants you.
If you're facing opposition, if you feel you are languishing away in a dry place, if you are tempted to just give up, DON'T!
Hang in there one more day, and tomorrow commit to hanging in there one more. If God put you there, only HE can tell you when to move.
So live with a clean conscience before God. If your critics are getting to you, just get alone with the Lord and ask Him if you are doing right.
If you know you are doing what the Lord wants you to do, that's enough!
Don't let the squawks of those who oppose the work of God get you down. Smile, love them, and continue to do what the Head of the Church tells you to do. One day you will be glad you did!
Tags:
adversity, dont quit, faithfullness, perseverence
Posted at: 09:38 PM | Add Comment
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