For the first month of my World Race we are in Honduras in an area called the Valley of the Angels or Valle de Los Angeles as the locals say. We are working with an organization called Hope at Hand that does a food and discipleship program for several schools in the area. The most amazing couple by the names of David and Scarleth run the ministry. Every day they bring the kids a meal and do a Bible lesson. This couple is so passionate about bringing the gospel to these kids. Before they had their truck they walked eight miles one way every day to the school. As the kids came to Christ they would go home and witness to their families. This is their seventh year doing ministry in The Valley and they have seen the whole community transformed.
This past Sunday David told the team a story about how early on in their ministry a local school official came against them and tried to shut down what they were doing. She was a firm atheist and said to David and Scarleth “you can feed the kids but you can’t preach to them”. But David and Scarleth refused to stop. Later on that same official sought them out for help, ended up coming to Christ, and is now one of their biggest supporters. Now anytime anyone tries to come against the ministry that person shuts it down and defends the ministry and the work that they are doing.
That story blew me away. Throughout that process it would have been so easy for David and Scarleth to give in to the opposition. They could have thrown up their hands and said that it wasn’t worth the struggle. Even more than that, when the official later came to them seeking help they could have turned her away. They could have said “No! You fought against us and now you are asking for our help? I don’t think so!”. But that’s not what they did. They didn’t respond with bitterness or resentment, and through that they gained an ally from someone who was one of their biggest enemies.
Suffering and trial in and of itself doesn’t produce growth, but it’s your attitude and response to the trial that changes you. Their response of joy and resilience to that opposition produced support in a way that they could not have imagined.
That story made a huge impression on me. I know that there have been many seasons in my life where I have been walking through opposition and did not respond with that amount of joy or grace. God never asks us to walk through something that is not ultimately a part of what He has for us. His intention is to always grow or elevate us in some way. What matters most is how we respond within those circumstances.
