Just Pray...

"The Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all we have to do is follow..."

In TZ we drive on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right (like in the UK), and in Burundi they drive on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the left (like in the US). On this half mile stretch between borders there is this place, pictured above, where you must switch sides as you exit one country and enter the other. Just a little confusing! Before they put these signs and arrows on the road it was even more confusing, especially when a car was coming!

Recently as we were forced to exit TZ and enter Burundi for a short time so we could re-enter TZ on tourist visas, we passed through this short section of road between borders. Each time we passed through, I thought of how well this illustrated where we are in this journey right now. We are in a confusing place, not knowing which way to go or which side of the road to be on! As we continue to seek the Lord, His response has been the same, "Just pray."

Don't complain, don't pull back or disengage from Him or from the work, and don't be discouraged (experienced all of these!)...

"Just pray."

Truly this is spiritual warfare. Just as I was able to get into the schools in Ujiji with my friend Gerald to teach the Word of God, the Emmaus courses were added to the reading room, with several now taking these courses... our visa renewal was rejected. As I write this, I am reminded of the verse in 1 Corinthians 16:9 "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Yes, we are in a battle over souls, so what are we to do? "Just pray."

Getting "REJECTED" felt like a spiritual uppercut from the enemy and caused me to really think through how spiritual warfare works. Since God has infinitely more power than Satan, why does He allow His work to stop? Perhaps for the same reason He allows any other trial in our lives: to teach us more about Himself, our spiritual enemy, and especially about ourselves. No doubt He allows interruptions like these to accomplish His plans and purposes. But has His work actually stopped? No, of course not because He is always working! All of the Gospel Seed planted over the past two years among the street boys, the school children, and those in Ujiji and Kigoma is steadily growing. The Lord is continuing to work in these precious souls, so what am I to do? "Just pray"

Every trial has its lessons for us to learn and its sanctifying purposes to accomplish in our lives. This trial has caused me to pause and observe areas of failure, consider various lessons learned, and hopefully wisdom gained. It has taught me much about the intense spiritual battle we are in, exposed my many inadequacies, the tremendous need of prayer, and it has brought me to the place of surrender before the Lord once again.

God allows trials into our lives to accomplish His will, which ultimately is for us to be formed into the image of Christ. It is painful at times, confusing, and even discouraging as we pass through them, but we know the Lord is burning off the dross and making us more like His Son. So I pretty much know what God is doing IN me, but what exactly He doing WITH me is another question. "Just pray."

One scenario is that our appeal is granted and we are given our 2 year visa, and we continue on with the Gospel work in Ujiji and Kigoma. We and many others are praying for this, but like all of our prayers, we attach a "P.S." at the end, "Not my will but Yours be done". I have to confess I have no idea which way this will go, but He knows and we just want His perfect will. Therefore as we pray, we surrender to Him and His will. The path from point A to point B is never a straight line, nor is it usually exactly the way you expected it to go.

Sometimes God allows interruptions into our involvement in His work to redirect His servants. Perhaps He is up to something like this? Maybe He is about to shift directions and lead us into something new here or even somewhere else? Someone once wisely said, "Our disappointments are often God's appointments." Jennifer and I pray together daily and realize this is a possibility, but have no idea or new leading at this time. So what do we do?

"Just pray"

If the door closes in TZ and we are not granted our appeal, what will we do? We have thought about this question more and more as this trial drags on. Does this mean we have failed? That the Lord lost this particular spiritual battle? Absolutely not, even now as I am prohibited from "work" on a tourist visa, I am playing a supporting role to a Tanzanian who has stepped up to lead the ministry to the street boys, and another in Ujiji at the maktaba and teaching in the schools! Either way this goes our Lord has the victory and His work continues on!

I was recently reminded of when Paul was not able to visit the Thessalonian church because the verse says, "Satan hindered us." (1 Thess. 2:18) How did that turn out for Satan? Which bore more fruit, Paul's presence by visiting in person or Paul's letter which he sent instead? God always wins! Millions if not billions have benefitted from the letter of 1 Thessalonians, and what sometimes looks like a defeat isn't always true. We have to wait and hear the rest of the story. "Just pray."

So this pretty much explains where we are in this trial. Like Jehoshaphat prayed when the Moabites and Ammonites came against him and the people of Judah. (2 Chronicles 20:12) He said as he closed his prayer, "We have no power against this great multitude which is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on YOU." What a perfect response from a surrendered servant to an all powerful and merciful God! This is our prayer as well, and we will look expectantly for His answer in His time, but for now...

"Just pray."

"The Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all we have to do is follow."