The most frequent question I get asked these days is why I am where I am. Why I have decided to be in Zimbabwe when most are trying to leave the country? Why I have turned my back on a straightforward life, working a normal job, paying my bills on time, and enjoying all the benefits of life in a land where whatever I need I can have. In truth there are a few possible answers and the reality is that I have not lived this life for about 5 years now. I often think that I would get bored and wonder whether I would still trust God in the way that I have had to – hear me right I am not saying that if you lead a comfortable life you are not trusting God. He has a unique race for each of us to run, and unique ways of teaching us and drawing us closer to Him, and I guess this is His way of conforming me into the image of Christ – and so nothing else really works for me! The truth is I am compelled by the love of Creator God to see every tribe, language and tongue worshipping together in eternity!
<When I was 16, God turned my life upside down. It was clear from the word go that He was in the business of transformation. I became a Christian and working in tag team the Father, Son and Spirit, (apologies if that is too heretical!) began the initial stages of change. I learnt I had a Father God who loved me, accepted me and had radical plans for my life. Over the last decade He has continued this transformation process and has been working hard on my many quirks shall we say! I have learnt that the term ‘my life’ is a little irrelevant as I am really His – bought at such a cost by the blood of Jesus, to be part of His great amazing purposes in the earth. I have come to love the reality that this means the ends of the earth, and the small, insignificant part that He has for me to play in eternity has literally meant that – the ends of the earth.
In Psalm 2: 8 we are called as the Psalmist to, “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.” And again in Acts 13:47 we see our commission from Creator God “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ”
As I have said this will mean different things to different people depending on our unique calling but for me this has meant leaving family and friends in the UK and moving to an unknown land. A land full of beauty and diversity; a land hungry for God to break in and rescue His people, a land ready for the truth that Our God saves, heals and sets apart a people for Himself, that they also may get caught up in this beautiful mission to reach the ends of the earth. What a public demonstration to the nations we will have when God breaks in and rescues His people.
Life is full of challenge but it is worth it as we play our small part in His amazing purposes here on earth. Mbonisi was talking about suffering at Church this weekend (An excellent and timely word!). I remember smiling to myself as he commented that He would choose to live in Zimbabwe over many other nations where there are horrendous atrocities taking place. He mentioned a few in Africa, and I couldn’t get the news of what is happening in DRC out of my mind. The reality is that every nation, tribe and tongue is in need of hearing the truth about Jesus our beautiful Saviour; our Healer and Redeemer. The reality deep down in my heart is that I long for the broken to know His healing, for the lost to encounter His love and the hopeless to know that there is hope in Jesus, and I am prepared to go where He sends me to this end. I smile because I am reminded of yet another place God desires for His love to be extended, and what that may mean in my (or your) future.
We have to believe that He is who He says He is and when this means living in challenging circumstances (which we all do irrelevant of our nations standing) we believe that He is still God over all things. It is important that we choose to look at life through the lens of the reality of our God. He is sovereign – there is nothing in all creation that is out of His control (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3); and He is good – “causing all things to work together for the good to those who love God.” (Rom 8:28)
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all
the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom
is the Lord’s And He rules over the nations.”
Psalm 22:27-28
Let us be willing to help them remember by playing our part in sharing the love of Christ to the ends of the earth, whether it means those who live in your street or it means moving your street to be in the ends of the earth.
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