Dear Partner,
How many times do I sense God calling me to something, only to get discouraged and distracted after a short time? Maybe things don’t go the way I expect them to go. Maybe the Lord seems to be slow in answering my prayers or fulfilling His promises. We are so accustomed to “fast food” and other conveniences that sometimes it is difficult to follow a process that takes any significant amount of time.
But quite often, the impact of the Gospel is seen after the passage of time. In His parables, Jesus often compares the Kingdom of God using a farming metaphor. The Kingdom is like a seed, or like a farmer sowing seed in a field. There is a natural delay between the sowing of the seed and the harvest. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like that. I would much rather reap the harvest immediately after sowing the seed! But even in the sowing, the waiting, and the reaping, God promises us that if we follow His process we will reap, if we don’t give up!
So dear brothers and sisters, don’t give up! I am speaking to myself as much as I am to you. Keep believing, keep trusting, continue expecting that God will answer. Even when you are faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, let God know what you want, and then thank Him in advance for the answer, and for His faithfulness.
This month’s story is a testimony of God’s faithfulness, over a period of sixteen years. I trust it will encourage you to keep holding on. As you read this story, please keep our teams in prayer. Some happy endings haven’t happened yet, and there is sometimes sadness or trouble in the time between sowing and reaping.
We could not do any of this without the generous financial support of you, our partners! We also rely on and ask for your continued prayer support.
Blessings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus,
Thomas