I awoke to tropical animals whooping and birds greeting the day with melody and chatter. Stepping onto the balcony, I was taken breathless by all the life—trees upon trees with flowers and vines winding around everything.
Compared to the Middle Eastern desert, this was like a super-oasis.
It was our family’s first morning in Thailand. We were staying at a retreat house for field workers and had come out of a very difficult first year on the field. Our hearts were desperate for recovery. In the previous year, we had gone through struggles unlike any others we had ever faced: a new language and culture, the loss of friends, disability and surgery, homesickness, hearing heart-wrenching stories from refugees who’ve left everything.
The year had been one long valley that got darker and darker as we went. Our romantic notions about living overseas had been buried months ago. Now we wondered if was worth it.
Perhaps you, too, have had times of lost vision and passion—times when you couldn’t see the path right in front of you. In the middle of the dark valley, it’s easy to lose perspective.
We had to learn to trust that God was with us and working all things together for good (Romans 8:28). We clung to the belief that He indeed wanted us to be there and that He would be adequate for us amidst our overwhelming sense of inadequacy.
Now sitting on our balcony in Thailand, I felt a sudden glimmer of hope. God began reminding me of why we had joined our team in the Middle East. I recalled the memory of my calling and felt encouraged that the Lord would give me the resilience to walk through the darkest valleys.
“Believe in the darkness what you have seen in the light,” said Lilias Trotter, a missionary to Algeria. We may feel surrounded by darkness, but it is not dark to God. His truth still stands and He remains perfectly aware and in control of everything.
Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God. (Isaiah 50:10)
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:11-12)
During our stay at the retreat house, I asked other seasoned field workers, “How did you persevere? How have you made it for so long? I feel so beat down and it’s only been a year!”
Each person said roughly the same thing: they kept going back to the time when they first felt in their hearts that they were supposed to go to the field. When they experienced depression, homesickness, illness and loss, they held onto the memory of their calling and continued pressing on. Walking with Jesus, they came through the dark valleys with new vision, purpose, faith, and confidence in the Lord.
As you step into your God-given purpose, you’ll face challenges and go through dark valleys. But you’ll also grow in faith, receive greater capacity to love, and be entrusted with building the Kingdom.
You don’t know how things will turn out as you obey your calling. But know that God walks with you every step of the way. Hold onto His promises that Jeremiah prophesied to those living in exile:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers” (Jeremiah 31:3-4).
Even in the valleys, we will discover Christ’s everlasting love and faithfulness. May God strengthen you to trust Him as you help build His Kingdom in dark places.
Many field workers face great suffering as they sacrifice to reach the nations.
Discover how God is using Heidi, a long-term field worker, as she gives up home and family for the Kingdom.
LEAVING FAMILY FOR THE CAUCASUS
**This account comes from a long-term worker.**
Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/memory-calling
