I
remember the day I sat on a mountain in Southern Peru looking over Chumpi, a
small village at about eleven thousand feet altitude in the Andes Mountains. As part of a vision team from Old Fort we
were considering the opportunity to adopt this village and two others nearby in
order to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. At that time there was little if any
evangelical work going on in that area.
We had spent one full day on a plane and two full days in a truck
driving through some pretty treacherous mountains just to get there. The accommodations were rustic and primitive.
The cold nights and high altitude were more difficult to handle than any of us
had imagined. In short, ministering in
these villages was certainly going to be…in a word…hard.
As I
sat there looking over the village and seeking God’s leadership as to whether
or not to commit our church to such a difficult assignment, I struggled with
the enormity of the task. I thought
about the costs of each trip, the risks involved in all the travel, the
language barrier, the frustration of only being able to be among the people a
couple times per year and of course, the possibility of failure. Without a doubt, the struggle was as big as
the mountain upon which I sat. Then, in a moment, my focus changed and I was able to look past the mountain of difficulty and see the people walking the streets of Chumpi. Literally I began to focus on the people. From my perch, I could see the main square and started noticing the people walking to and fro throughout the town. I thought of the attitude of Jesus in Mark 6:34 “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them.” I realized then and there that the hardest thing I had been asked to do was not to go to the mountains of Peru but rather to have compassion (love) for those who lived there. My prayer at that point was simple, “Father, teach me to love these people.”
From
that moment on, I never again worried about the logistics of the ministry that
made it seem difficult. For the next
seven years, I tried to focus on the people who lived in those mountains and
knew that we were given the privilege to visit with them in order to show them
the love of God. Many of them came to
know Jesus Christ, friendships were established, churches were planted and most
of all, our God was glorified. Looking
back, it wasn’t nearly as hard as I had first imagined it to be. In the mountains of Southern Peru, I saw the
miraculous work of God in so many ways.
I’m glad we decided to do something hard.
So,
this is my challenge to each of you as you read this blog at the beginning of
2014. Do something hard. Do something this year that will only be
possible by the power of God. Say “yes”
to the Holy Spirit and then let Him work a miracle in your life. Step out in faith and do it. You’ll see; the mountain is no problem for
our God. Thanks for reading.
Well said, Pastor! The mountains in our lives (and there are soooo many!) are not a problem for our God. This word you gave inspired me to ask God to help me to do something hard..."Father, help me to love them." :)
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