The Uncomfortable Truth

Recently, I was in a prayer meeting on Zoom and after I gave my prayer requests one of the ladies told me that God is not concerned about my comfort and that I just need to obey Him. That is an uncomfortable truth. When I first became a Christian, I thought my life was going to get easier and God was going to give me all I wanted. That however was not the truth. It was quite the opposite. If a non-believer were looking at my life they would probably have thought that it was getting worse when I became a Christian. But a more seasoned believer in Christ would have realized that the Father prunes branches connected to Christ, the True Vine, to make them more fruitful. And, the pruning process can be quite painful, but very important. Many people don’t understand that following Jesus may cause us to lose our comfort and maybe even our lives.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25

Just as the cross meant a painful death for Jesus, it also signifies the same thing for us. It can be an agonizing death to self where our plans, dreams, and ambitions are destroyed. I am sorry that I may not be making Christianity seem more appealing, but it is the truth. When we are disciples of Christ, our paths and desires change. And we can’t do the things the way the world does as we have to go along a straight and narrow path which many do not want to walk on. It is a fight, and we must fight the good fight of faith as the Apostle Paul said. Jesus Himself told us we have to deny self to follow Him and if we are trying to save our lives, being in Christ may not work well for us. The truth is that Jesus had left His glorious position in Heaven to come to earth as man to be afflicted for us.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:2-5

All of this happened to Jesus. He was despised and rejected by His own people. He was wrongfully accused, arrested, beaten and crucified. So, if He experienced all of this for us, what then will we undergo for His sake? If we look at the lives of many famous and impactful missionaries, we will see that there is a common theme of suffering in their lives.

William Carey is well known for his missionary work in India and is seen by many as the father of modern missions. However, he grew up in poverty and had little formal education. He lost his baby daughter and was initially rejected as a missionary by the church. But, by God’s grace, he made it to India where he was opposed by the East Indian Company as they were suspicious of missionary work believing it could hinder their trading business, so they made it illegal in their territories. Besides that, he and his family faced hunger and disease. His young son died, and his wife had mental illness. He struggled financially as many local churches did not understand much about overseas missions and so did not support it. Yet still, Carey translated the Bible in different Indian languages and influenced social change in the country. His mission became a model for other missionaries.

Bishop Warwick Cole-Edwardes who established the non-profit organization, Footprints into Africa, to spread the Gospel throughout the continent, documented the works of David Livingstone, who he considered to be “the greatest missionary of all time, especially in Africa”.

He came from England’s poor, but he was buried among England’s kings. His cradle sat in a Scottish weaver’s hut, but his grave lies in Westminster Abbey. In between that humble cradle and that glorious burial are all the elements of drama – the challenge of the Dark Continent, the forward-faced explorer driving ever onward. Here is the will of one frail man cutting a swath through the unknown wilderness, the uncharted jungle, the untouched desert. The dynamic of his Christian personality made a way through cannibal tribes, and his dauntless courage made crocodile-infested rivers disappear. He vowed vengeance upon the slave trade and fought until the world was ready to say, “Slavery shall be no more”. When he went to the Unknown Continent its heart was a blank, but his labours wiped the word ‘unknown’ from Africa’s map. He opened Africa to the gospel, and gave to the world a new Africa.

Hudson Taylor made an indelible mark in China with his mission’s work amidst enormous struggles.  Although, he influenced the spread of Christianity in the country, his difficulties were great. His children and wife died, while he was challenged by illnesses, persecution, financial issues and even the abandonment of his co-laborers. He wrote about his struggles.

My path is far from easy.  I was never more happy in Jesus, and I am very sure He will not fail us; but never from the time of the foundation of the Mission have we been so utterly cast upon God. It is well, doubtless, that it should be so. Difficulties afford a platform upon which He can show Himself.  Without them we could never know how tender, faithful, and almighty our God is. How much we may and ought to trust Him!

I believe Taylor is right. In our difficulties and weaknesses, God shows Himself strong and His glory is revealed. Therefore, we should not think that God is against us when we face trials of many kinds but know that it is to show His glory, hence we should trust Him.  This may be an uncomfortable truth for some, but I am privileged to serve a God who makes beauty from ashes, and who gives us the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness so that He may be glorified.