missionary

Where He Leads I’ll Go

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I went to a hymn sing tonight at my church. Before one of the hymns, they gave a backstory to how the hymn was penned. B. B. McKinney was talking with a missionary to Brazil who was home on furlough. The missionary, R. S. Jones, had recently been diagnosed with a health condition that would prevent him from returning to the mission field. He was devastated.

McKinney asked him what his plans were going forward. Jones replied, “I don’t know what I’ll do next, but wherever He leads, I’ll go.”

From there germinated a seed that turned into the classic hymn sung in churches through the decades up to the present that has ministered to hundreds and thousands of people.

So many right now are at a loss as to what comes next. So many are at a career crossroads or facing a difficult decision and can’t see a clear answer. The best answer anyone can give is “wherever He leads, I’ll go.”

God honors that kind of surrender and dependence. God blesses those who instead of relying on their own judgment or cleverness choose to fall on God’s mercy and cry out to Him, “Not my will but Yours, Lord. Have your own way in me.”

God is faithful. He will not lead you astray. Though the roads He leads you down may be difficult and at times overwhelming, He has promised to go with you the entire way. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

“Take up thy cross and follow me
I heard my Master say
“I gave my life to ransom thee
Surrender your all today”

Wherever He leads, I’ll go
Wherever He leads, I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads, I’ll go

He drew me closer to His side
I sought His will to know
And in that will, I now abide
Wherever He leads, I’ll go

Wherever He leads, I’ll go
Wherever He leads, I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so
Wherever He leads, I’ll go”

Wise Words from Amy Carmichael

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One of my favorite authors growing up was a lady named Amy Carmichael. She served as a missionary to India for over 50 years and wrote quite a bit on the topic of suffering patiently under the hand of God. Some of her books include Gold by Moonlight, Edges of His Ways, and If. Most people who are familiar with her and her writings probably know her from the fact that she was a hero of Elisabeth Elliott’s. Here is a sample of what made her so great. It’s one of my favorite quotes of hers:

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

Growing Through Obedience

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“‘Aslan” said Lucy “you’re bigger’.
‘That is because you are older, little one’ answered he.
‘Not because you are?’
‘I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.’ (C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian).”

There’s one part in Prince Caspian where Aslan calls out to Lucy to follow him, and to get the others to do the same. The catch is that Lucy is the only one who can see or hear him. The others will have to take her word for it.

That’s the moment where Lucy chooses to trust in Aslan and obey him, even though it might feel like she’s the only one. She has to go even if she goes alone.

That’s what genuine faith looks like. Faithfulness and obedience can be lonely sometimes, especially when so many others are too busy trying to blend in and not make waves to truly follow Jesus. When you are obedient, sometimes your biggest critics will come from inside the Church, not outside.

William Carey, the father of modern missions, faced opposition from other clergymen for wanting to take the gospel to India. Imagine that. Pastors and church leaders not wanting to take the gospel to unreached people. But it happened.

William Carey’s faithfulness made it possible for others to take the gospel around the world, so that heaven could be filled with voices from every tribe and tongue, every skin color and hair color, gathered around the throne as depicted in the book of Revelation.

Obedience might mean standing in the minority for what’s right versus what’s popular. William Penn once said, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

In Prince Caspian, Lucy gets the rest to follow her. Some were more willing than others to go, but they all went. None of them could see Aslan until after they had stepped out in faith, but once they were committed to following, they could see him leading the way.

That’s the way faith is sometimes. You can’t see God until you obey what He’s told you to do. Obedience leads to faith being made sight.

Chariots of Fire

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One of my favorite movies of all time, Chariots of Fire, is based on an actual true story. The film is an account of the life of Eric Liddell, or at least the part of his life where he chooses between going to China to be a missionary and training for the Olympic games.

The movie hit theaters back in 1981. I can’t say with 100% confidence that everything portrayed in the movie is the way it actually happened. Hollywood does tend to take liberties for the sake of dramatic tension and for those feel-good moments.

I can say that the real Eric Liddell was willing to live and die for the sake of the gospel. He ended up going to China after the 1924 Olympics (spoiler alert), where he remained until his death in 1945. He literally sacrificed his life at age 43 for Christ because he felt that to lose your life is to gain it and to die for Christ is gain.

These are his actual words that reflect the heart of a true missionary and follower of Jesus Christ:

“I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Creator, infinitely holy and loving, who has a plan for the world, a plan for my life, and some daily work for me to do. I believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, as Example, Lord, and Savior. I believe in the Holy Spirit who is able to guide my life so that I may know God’s will; and I am prepared to allow him to guide and control my life. I believe in God’s law that I should love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength; and my neighbor as myself. I believe it is God’s will that the whole world should be without any barriers of race, color, class, or anything else that breaks the spirit of fellowship. To believe means to believe with the mind and heart, to accept, and to act accordingly on that basis” (Eric Liddell).

Amy, Amy, Amy

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“And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
But, no, Lord, no, that never shall be, rather
I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.

I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing,
I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire—
See in my quiet places, wishes thronging—
Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.”
― Amy Carmichael

“He hath never failed thee yet.
Never will His love forget.
O fret not thyself nor let
Thy heart be troubled,
Neither let it be afraid.”
― Amy Carmichael

“I wish thy way.
And when in me myself should rise,
and long for something otherwise,
Then Lord, take sword and spear
And slay.”
― Amy Carmichael

“Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matters beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?

Hold us quiet through the age-long minute
While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill :
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, are in it;
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?”
― Amy Carmichael

These are just a few of the reasons why I love Amy Carmichael, who spent over half a century as a missionary in India rescuing young girls from temple prostitution. She was one of the first to fight against sex trafficking, long before the term existed.

She was of an old school faith that I think we need more of in this day and age. She never minced words and never compromised her convictions to curry favor with those she sought to reach with the message of the Cross.

I’m not saying she was a perfect saint (in the sense that most of us think of the word), but she was a saint in the sense that she was someone who had experienced the goodness of God.

I love this quote attributed to her. I think it sums up perfectly what love in the truest sense means: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

Being a Barnabas

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Do you have any Barnabas-type people in your life?

Barnabas was one of the first missionaries sent out by the early Church, commissioned by the Apostles themselves. His name meant “son of encouragement” and he was the one who believed in people when others couldn’t or wouldn’t. First it was Paul then later John-Mark.

When people were still afraid of Paul and wouldn’t touch him with a 10-foot pole after his murderous past, Barnabas was the one who stood up for him and helped him get his start. When that same Paul wanted to give up on John-Mark after he had a meltdown on the mission field and deserted them, Barnabas stood by the young believer, even though it meant the end of Paul and Barnabas as a missions team.

Barnabas was the one guy you wanted in your corner who wouldn’t give up on you. Although I’m fairly certain he preferred not to be called Barney, although that is strictly my own speculation.

How many times has someone been a Barnabas to you?

Maybe when you’d messed up and felt like no one should give you a second chance, someone did. Maybe that someone believed in you even when you doubted yourself and believed for you when you couldn’t find the faith to believe. Someone who encouraged and inspired and challenged you to do more than you ever thought you could.

Have you ever been Barnabas to someone else?

Maybe someone needs your encouragement right now. Maybe someone has run out of faith and doesn’t see how their circumstances will ever improve or how they will ever be useful to the Kingdom. It could be your words to inspire that person and it could be your faith that gets them through.

All I know is that no one gets through this life alone. All of us will be in need at some point and all of us will be in a position to fill a need at some point. Just remember it’s just as wrong to refuse someone’s help as it is to see someone else in need and do nothing. Either way, your robbing someone of the blessing of giving– either yourself or the other.

Remember Who stood up for you when no one else would. Remember Who took your place when you least deserved it.

Another Bonfire and More Eucharisteo

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My community group met at a friend’s house for a bonfire. This wasn’t quite like the last one. I felt like a bit of a fifth wheel (or in this case, a seventh wheel).

I’m not blaming anybody but myself. I was tired and not feeling particularly Tookish. For those who have a life and haven’t read everything Tolkien has ever written at least ten times, it means my social butterfly side was dormant and my awkward caterpillar side was in charge.

I left early and ended up at Blue Coast Burrito. The girl who worked there complimented me on my I Am Second bracelet and that led to a good conversation. It turns out she is a missionary with Mobilizing Students and is looking to go live overseas in the next year or two.

It was a God-moment. Eucharisteo at work. If I had gone to Bar-B-Cutie’s (like I very nearly did), I would have missed this moment. If I had stayed at the bonfire, I would have not met Jenny, whose fervor for her calling blessed me.

God has a funny way of turning off nights into new adventures. I’m learning in my walk of faith to expect the unexpected and to be certain that God is always working around me, even on random Friday nights in October.

I don’t know what I’ll be doing this time tomorrow or where I’ll be. I know the same God who showed up tonight will be there and I know it will be another good night.

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Fountain Ramah Church

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A friend invited me to attend services at Fountain Ramah Church. She gave me directions because she doubted that my GPS would pick it up. She was probably right.

I drove down Blue Hole Road until it dead-ended, turned left then made an immediate left onto a gravel road. The first time, all I saw was a doublewide trailer with a fence around it and a no trespassing sign. So I went all the way to the other end of Blue Hole Road, turned around and came all the way back. This time I found it.

I stepped inside to what looked like a converted garage. There were chairs for probably 60 people. There was no typical-for-Nashville worship band of professional musicians. The singer was a bit off-key at times, but it was the purest worship I’ve experienced in a long time.

The preacher spoke with a heavy dialect and was hard to understand, but I have rarely been moved by a sermon as much as I was by this one. He spoke with a passion and fervancy that ignited something in me.

At the end, he prayed over some of the members. He laid hands on them and prayed blessing and protection and healing over them.

He motioned for me to come forward. I had to look around to make sure he wasn’t pointing at someone else. He laid hands on me and prayed for me to know my purpose. He prayed that my hands would be the hands that Jesus used to touch and heal people. I was moved to tears.

He prayed for my friend who is leaving for Colombia in about 4 weeks. He prayed protection and anointing over her. It was just like when the early church commissioned Paul and Barnabas as missionaries by laying hands on them and praying for them.

It was the closest to New Testament church that I’ve ever experienced. I was so blessed and encouraged and challenged.

To my friend who invited me, thank you. Thank you not only for inviting me, but also for being my friend. When I think of all the people who have impacted my life and made me more like Jesus, you will always be near the top of the list. I count you not only as my friend and my sister in Christ, but as my hero as well. May future generations rise up and call you blessed for your faithfulness to the call of Christ on your life.