A Ray of Hope

For everything there is a season, And a time for every purpose under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Indeed there is lean season, as well as bounty season. However, in the work of God all seasons are His seasons, He does things perfectly at the right time, yes, in His time. 

Since long, I have been very much bothered by the situation of the local church I am in at the moment. Often in our brothers' fellowship I often expressed my burden and feeling. And it has been my intense prayer for the Lord to bring to further height of glory in gaining new ones absolutely for the Lord. Though we have contacted many, baptised many, but very few are solid, stedfast and stable. This bothered me quite much. In fact, this has become the church burden too, to focus on the shepherding in small groups in vitality for the growth and increase of the church. 

Though the burden for increase is heavy, the Lord surprisingly strip us off of serving ones in our locality. In spite of the expectation of more serving ones, the Lord reduced the number of serving ones, one by one, moving them to different cities. Amidst our meager number, families are migrating to different cities. Initially this bothered me even more. Nevertheless, the Lord is sovereign over all. He does things in His way and in His time.

Last night as I was praying and fellowshiping with the Lord and releasing burden after burden, the Lord reminded me that none of the new ones, under the shepherding and whom we have contacted for a considerable length of time, would be lost. They are preserved, waiting for the proper time to fully bring them into the church-life. Even as I was praying I began to call up the new ones one by one. Quite contrary to my expectation, they picked up my call and apologised for not being in contact for quite a while. In fact, all of them responded positively to the extend that we prayed over the phone with a promise to visit this week or the coming week. After all these calls, the Lord reminded me a verse, 1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Recovery Version Note 3: Not by our natural life and natural ability but by the Lord's resurrection life and power. Our labor for the Lord in His resurrection life with His resurrection power will never be in vain, but will result in the fulfilling of God's eternal purpose through the preaching of Christ to sinners, the ministering of life to the saints, and the building up of the church with the experiences of the processed Triune God as gold, silver, and precious stones (3:12). This labor will be rewarded by the returning Lord in the day of the resurrection of the righteous (3:14; Matt. 25:21, 23; Luke 14:14).

The Lord's definite promise is that all of the ones on whom we labored, preached the gospel, ministered life and prayed for, will all be remaining fruits. And most of these people are the authentic locals. With this rhema from the Lord, I was enlightened to see beyond the visible and was full of hope. A ray of hope has dawned! And I was very much encouraged and strengthened. Moreover, all these new ones are young, well educated and well established in their human living. No wonder the Lord brought them into contact with us.

Praise the Lord for this ray of hope! Lord, may this ray bring in the full and bright sunshine.