It is vain for you to
rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For
He gives to His beloved even in his
sleep (Psalms 127: 2 NASB)
 |
| Argentina 1986 |
Worry is a form of unbelief.
When God assigns us a task to do, anxiety can set in as to whether we
are up to accomplishing it. Where God
guides, he always provides. I once
learned that the sovereign Lord could provide for us even as we sleep.
My wife and I were
leading a discipleship training school with Youth With A Mission. We had been training for several weeks,
gearing up to do creative ministries (music, mime, and dance) to share the
Gospel on the streets of Chile and Argentina.
How did I get here?
I found myself riding on our old gray bus, traveling from
Virginia to Miami, Florida with a couple of dozen students. From there we would fly to Santiago, Chile
and share the Gospel for two months in South America. As we drove down Interstate 95, my mind
wandered back through the past several months. We assumed the leadership of the
training school in an unexpected fashion, but we were sure that God had led us
to this role. I had never led a school
of this type. And, as a matter of fact, I had never even been on an evangelistic
team outreach, other than a couple of days of isolated experience. I wondered if I should tell my students of my
inexperience, but decided that what they didn’t know would not hurt them. Time would tell if this was true.
The bread of painful
labors
I didn’t want the students to be fearful because I was
nervous enough for all of us. All the way down to Miami I rehearsed in my head
how I would lead my first street meeting. The more detailed the plans were in
my thoughts, the less sure I was that I could enact those plans. My mind started to race. Each new strategy in my imagination never
seemed to be quite right. Our scriptural
reference refers to eating “the bread of painful labors.” When we plan our agenda in more detail than
God has revealed it to us, it always turns into a hard assignment.
My goodness, I’m the
leader!
We arrived in Chile and boarded a bus for Argentina. Upon arriving at the border, we found a
three-hour delay for buses going through customs. A few of the students asked
if they could depart the bus. I noticed
they took their instruments with them. I quickly fell asleep, probably due to a
tired mind. Later, I’m not sure how long;
I awaken to the sound of music. I peered through the bus window and saw the
students who had left with instruments, surrounded by a crowd of people. I
rapidly ran to the door and thought to myself; I am the leader I need to get
out there. Then it dawned on me that they were doing pretty well without me;
maybe I should try and not mess it up. So
I just watched them play music and share Christ in our first street meeting.
What is the takeaway from this little story? When the Lord gives us a task to do, He goes
before us to make it happen. God had the time, the place, and the people
necessary for our first experience in street evangelism prearranged. My worry was an exercise in futility. I think God must have chuckled a bit as he
saw the expression on my face when I realized He had put everything together
while I was sleeping. When I arrived back to Virginia I told other training
leaders that I think I had developed a new evangelism strategy. It’s called,
“He gives to his beloved even in his sleep.”
Ken
Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com
