Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

As I stood in line waiting to board the plane in Washington D.C., I overheard three men talking about the American missionaries who were traveling to India. Because I was one of the last of my team to board the plane, I was the only one who heard their spoken words, and they cut straight to the heart and core of my being. These three men, who knew absolutely nothing about us, were insulting us, bashing us, laughing at us.
 
“These people are wasting their time. No one in India will listen to them. What the hell do they think they’ll accomplish?”
 
With this came laughter—almost an evil one. As I heard them go on and on, my heart sank. We hadn’t even left the States yet and already we were being persecuted.
 
As I handed my ticket to the lady and walked onto the plane, I lowed my head in disappointment. I was frustrated and upset. And offended. I had assumed that the men knew I was one of “them”, but they never acknowledged me directly. As I sat in my seat, I shared with one of my teammates what had just happened, and my eyes filled with tears. As we talked, it reminded us of a passage in Nehemiah when they were trying to rebuild the wall.  
 

Nehemiah 4:1-6—“Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that? Tobiah the Ammoniate was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on tit he will break down their stone wall!” Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out form your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

 
They were questioned, taunted, and discouraged, yet they prevailed. They built the wall to glorify God in the midst of persecution. God was with them, as He is with us. He has called us. Our work in not in vain.
 
Yes, maybe they were right. Maybe no one will listen. Will people laugh at us? Of course! But what does it matter? The Word clearly says that persecution and trials will come—II Timothy 3:12. It’s inevitable. The beauty of it is that, when we persevere, we are glorifying our King, and we receive the crown on life—James 1:12. We may “lose” this life per se, but the one we gain is so much more beautiful. It’s an eternal life with our Creator.
 

I’d say the persecution if worth it, wouldn’t you?