I’m living on the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. I still lose my breath every time I glance at it. Surprisingly, we somehow get wireless outside in the bush here, so as I type this, I have been visited by toads, wild dogs, scorpions, trucks of mosquitoes, domestic cats, millipedes, and frighteningly large desert spiders. I feel like Noah as the animals visit me two-by-two. Unlike Noah, however, I caught a fat-tailed scorpion the size of my hand and fried it for dinner. It was the closest thing I can get to a crunchy meat-filled taco from the Bell. We stay at base camp here for two days of rest/chores/worship and one day of ministry at the YWAM Kilimanjaro camp. For the remaining four days each week, we trek deep into the bush and camp with indigenous people groups, some being mostly untouched by the Gospel. First trip (Kingori): We did a lot of door-to-door evangelism. I was blown away with how God used each of us uniquely. As a team, we were really walking in our respective gifts and everything felt so natural, pure, and holy. God taught me a valuable lesson as we came across an old man sitting under a tree. When our translator spoke to him, the old man ignored him and mocked him in his native tongue. Our translator turned and said to us, “Let’s go; he won’t listen.” Immediately the Holy Spirit stood me up. I felt compelled that I could not let this man just go by the wayside. We came to tell these people about Jesus Christ and this could be the only chance this man gets for the rest of his life. I stopped the translator as we started to leave and said, “Wait, translate for me.” I knelt beside the old man and took his hand. With my most solemn seriousness, I stared him directly in the eyes and shared the most powerful, Spirit-filled message in my life. Words just flowed from my mouth as I described Jesus, the Son of God, blameless and pure, holy and undefiled-how He was beaten and spit on, mocked and whipped, and how nails were driven through his hands and feet as he was hung on a cross to take our place. I related things to the man and spoke into his life, and he listened to me. But to my astonishment, when I had finished, he said, “I hear your words, but they mean nothing to me-they are just noise.” Taken aback, I thanked the man for his time and began reflecting. It doesn’t matter how articulate we are. It doesn’t matter how powerful or compelling our message may be. It doesn’t matter how many miracles or healings are performed. The Holy Spirit is He who testifies Christ. God convicts the heart and compels the mind; He softens the soul and grows the seed. Every talent comes from Him. All authority is given from above, and He is the one and only Redeemer. Thinking back on this, it’s easy to question God. Why would He empower and embolden me just to be rejected in front of everyone? Shouldn’t we be rewarded when we step out in obedience to God? Isn’t His plan always perfect? How could I be rejected when listening so closely to the Spirit? Did I miss something? What’s going on here, God? As always, He was waiting to answer my questions through quickening His Word to my heart and to the hearts of others He has placed in my life. A fellow missionary here saw that I was reading Exodus and counting how many times God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. She exclaimed excitedly that she had just finished doing the same, and had even written a sermon about it. Her sermon highlighted the answers to these questions, and I shared with her how they applied to my experience with the old man under the tree. I want to share this with all of you, too. As my friend says in her sermon, “This is for everyone who feels like God has failed them; for everyone who obeyed God in faith but is waiting to know the end of the story.“
In Exodus 5:22, Moses returns to the LORD and says, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your na
me, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” If you, like me, have ever met resistance or rejection when wholeheartedly following God, you are in good company. Moses, the prophet who parted the Red Sea and established Passover, the servant who spoke directly to God and retrieved the tablets on Mt. Sinai, the man who has his very own song in Heaven… he went through it all, too! Moses heard God’s voice, stepped out in obedience, and was rejected by Pharaoh. Moreover, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart for the very purpose that Moses would be rejected! And on top of it all, things actually got worse for Moses’ beloved tribe! Can you imagine? Can you imagine doing exactly what you feel God has called you to
do and then seeing everything in your life get worse? But it is our response to these moments that define us. It was Moses’ faith that led him to persevere, and the author of Hebrews identifies Moses as a man of great faith in God because he persisted throughout such hardship and apparent failure.
rejected my message, I have faith that God doesn’t make mistakes. I believe God didn’t call me just to fail, even though it may have felt that way. What would have happened had Moses lost his faith before God was ready? God told them what He had planned, that He would free them after doing wonders in Egypt so they would know that He is the
LORD. Are you following God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and yet you are still facing failures? Are things getting worse? Know that God is always good. Know His timing is always perfect. Have faith in His Word, even when the world turns it into mockery, and you will witness, like Moses, the rest of the story — freedom.
