I had the privilege of spending some time this week with an older gentleman who has spent his life in obedience to God’s call by working in the mission field in India, as well as in pastoral, teaching, and bible college ministry. In recounting his experiences to me, I just felt encouraged and refreshed by the wisdom and insight of a life spent following after God.
I recorded some of the thoughts that he shared with me for future reference. Here are some of them:
A Verse Which Sustained Him Through His Life and Ministry
Jeremiah:17:8 – “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
He emphasized the importance of getting our roots deep into God’s Word (represented by water). It is the essential key to fruitfulness in and out of season.
The Importance of Bible Study
He shared that a worrying trend that he’s noticed in Singapore (after working in bible college ministry) is the lack of biblical study and teaching, which has often been replaced by programmes and ministry activities. While not diminishing the need for programmes/outreaches/cultural relevancy/etc, he continually emphasized to me the importance of knowing the bible.
Hunger was the key that helped him to get into the bible. He just got to a place where he was desperate enough to cry out to God to give him a love for the Word, and pursued that for many years. That hunger has kept with him throughout the past twenty years, though there have been seasons where that desire has been stronger and weaker.
He spoke admiringly of teachers in his life who have taught in the Word, and he still holds them in high regard. This revealed to me a man who is still fascinated by God’s Word (even after years of teaching), and knows that he has barely scratched the surface of His Word after more than twenty years.
He still maintains the spiritual discipline of getting into the bible, with most mornings spent with about two hours in the bible before his daily responsibilities.
He also suggested the importance of waking up early to seek God even in the midst of a busy schedule. He believes that the spiritual refreshing and renewal from that time will sustain a person through even the most busy of schedules. He warned about succumbing to the enemy’s tactics to wear out the saints as quoted in Daniel:7:25.
Relationships and God’s Testing
He shared a life situation that happened where it seemed like the people around him just didn’t seem to understand what he was going through, no matter how he tried to explain things. He felt frustrated in that situation, but after some time he realised that God was testing him to see how he would respond. Sometimes when things don’t seem to go our way and no one understands, God is waiting to see the response of our hearts to the situation.
Following God’s Call
He shared that one will never know how God will connect the dots in a person’s life to fulfill His plan. He shared of how God directed him and his wife with supernatural confirmation to work in Tanzania, only to spend two weeks actually there and the rest of his year in other parts of Africa due to permit problems. At the end of that year, he received a sudden phone call regarding a crisis vacancy in India. He had to make the decision to stay or go within one night, and he prayed and felt a release to go to India. He has since had twenty years of fruitful ministry in India. While travelling in and out of India to renew his visa, he found himself transiting through Singapore frequently. Through a series of events, he found himself working with a church and bible college in Singapore as well.
Posted on March 14, 2010
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