Amazed at God!
Recently, we had friends come and stay with us from a country where life is very different. They look just like us and indeed on the outside there does not seem to be much difference. But it was not long before we saw the differences in our lifestyle. These people got so excited by little things we hardly notice. They were excited to meet another believer when David went out the gate of our home and to be greeted by “Doxa to Theo” (Praise the Lord)! Imagine their delight when they met some of the local Christian youth on the beach when they were swimming. They had begun to think there were many believers in Greece. Actually, there are only 0.2% of people profess to have a relationship with Christ in Greece and yet to them it was many. In the country they come from they go from one Sunday to the next and never see another believer, and if they did meet one, he would not feel free enough to Praise the Lord in public. I wonder do we really appreciate the freedoms we have to spread the good news to others?
The folks were fascinated by the amount of information we had from people for prayer. They had never seen a prayer letter and knew nothing of the sufferings others were going through for Jesus. They counted it such a joy and privilege to spend time every day praying for the people we had been asked to pray for. They wept tears for others who they never met and knew so little about, yet they knew that part of the body of Christ was suffering and they could pray for them. I wonder, how delighted we are to have the privilege to pray for others? Do we help in any other way we can?
It wasn”t the shops that fascinated these people or the variety of goods available which was not in their country. In fact, they found everything to be extortionately expensive!!! But they could not wait to go home and spread the news of what they learnt about God and about their sisters and brothers in Christ during these days in Greece. They loved the fact that people feel free to come and call on us for coffee and a chat and the opportunity it gives to speak about Jesus. Not easy to do in their country, but with a bit of innovation and carefully choosing those to speak to, they look forward to trying it out. Even though in their country they are classed as a sect for believing in Jesus, they showed such excitement over the possibility to prove God”s faithfulness in helping them tell others about true life in Him! How excited are we to share the love of Christ with our friends, no matter the reaction?
Yes, they did go back and give testimony to their small group about all they learned while here, but I think we also learned a new appreciation of what we can do and how He has placed us here at this time for His particular purpose. Look around, see your circumstances as being for His particular purpose, and you might also be amazed at how many opportunities are right before your nose!