Today at our Missions Meeting, Ron talked about being faithful in sharing the gospel, even when we get rejected or discouraged, because seeds are being planted and you may never know the effect you may have, immediately or maybe even ever. The important thing is that we continue to share, and leave the results up to God. I love Isaiah 55:11-
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
God’s Word will never return void…what an encouragement this should be as we share the gospel. I am reading Fresh Power by Jim Cymbala, an amazing book (all of his are), easy to read, and so many great thoughts. One story he shares in particular touched my heart…it is in regards to the impact we can have without ever knowing it…
This is a true story that goes back to 1921. A young missionary couple, David and Svea Flood, went to the heart of Africa, where they were not well-received. They were not allowed contact with the villagers, and lived secluded. There was a young boy, however, who was given permission to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea thought, if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to win this boy to Jesus. She succeeded, but this was literally the only positive thing happening for this family. Shortly later, Svea gave birth to a little girl, and passed away a few days later. David Flood snapped and his heart turned cold to God. He gave the baby away, and went home. The baby, Aggie, was adopted by American missionaries. Many years later, Aggie received a Swedish religious magazine in her mailbox. She found someone who could translate, and read the story…about missionaries who came to Africa long ago, a baby that was born (her), the death of the mother, the one African boy led to Christ…and how after all the missionaries left, that same boy grew up to start a school, lead all the students to Christ, and those children led their parents to Christ. Today there were 600 believers in that village.
You can read the full story here, it is truly amazing and I didn’t finish it or include some miraculous details.
It’s amazing how God uses things we could never imagine to bring glory to Himself. Svea Flood dedicated her life and sacrificed to serve her God. She gave her all, not counting the cost. How we live is so much more important than how long we live. May God help us to live for something far greater than ourselves, far greater than “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does…the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:16-17).
Lastly, be encouraged and keep pressing on…we don’t always see God’s plan, but He is always at work, and His plan is always perfect. So perfect, that he used one discouraged, yet obedient woman to lead a young boy to Christ, who went on to influence 600 people- an entire village- to make decisions for Christ. What a mighty God we serve!
