While on holiday over the new year, I was able to take time and reflect back on all that God had been doing in Maila in 2019. Things were looking good: Bruce was preaching more at our local church, I was leading a weekly bible study at this church before the service which was well attended, the ladies group that I met with weekly were growing in their interest in the gospel and were even starting to talk about attending church and Tayo was on the cusp of accepting Jesus, with a genuine heart to serve the Lord.
Upon returning back from our holiday it felt like it all fell apart. Due to the bible study starting late as the members arrived late, church was starting late and a member of the congregation who did not attend the bible study complained, making the pastor reconsider the bible study. Ladies group canceled our weekly meeting 3 weeks in a row and Tayo moved to BKK.
I was really discouraged. I know that this is the nature of the work we do and that Satan is hard at work too. I could see that this was spiritual warfare but it still was hard to accept. As a result of this discouragement, I spent a number of days praying and fasting for Tayo and for God to be glorified even in this.
A few days later while doing a Beth Moore bible study the teaching was all about how the devil desires to entangle us. To quote Beth " the more entangled we are, the less faithful we will be with what has been entrusted to us.."
2 Tim 2:3-4 says “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” A timely reminder that my role is to please Jesus in all that I do, I am not responsible for the Thai’s response to the gospel I am just to be faithful to God’s command to me: to share the gospel message in the way he has gifted me to. But if I allow Satan to entangle me in all the smaller issues my faithfulness in serving Jesus decreases.
In ministry here in Thailand it is easy to get entangled in all the negatives, the steps backward, etc and lose sight of Jesus and to give up. We seem to undermine the power that Satan has. The forces of evil are meaner and more able than most of us give them credit for.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith...." Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
The will to persevere is often the difference between success and failure. As has been said, ‘Observe the postage stamp; its usefulness depends on the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.’ ‘Stickability’ is also a key to the Christian life.