I’d like to take a break from my series “Reflections on the Great Commission” and share an excerpt from a prayer letter I recently received. Josh and Mandy Brown are missionaries ministering in a cross-cultural setting in Detroit, Michigan. In the letter Mandy describes a situation and response that’s worth being reminded of as disciple of Jesus. Let’s let her example sink deep into our minds, hearts, and actions.
“I came back to Michigan on December 26th to return to work while Josh has remained in WA with his dad and brother to continue grieving the loss of Diane. By the time I got home it seemed that anything that could be wrong was. I got a pretty bad cold, our heater was broken, my luggage was lost on the flight back, most of our friends were out of town, and Josh’s car was stolen & completely destroyed and our insurance won’t cover any of it, and my first nights back to work were miserable!
All I wanted was for Josh to be home to fix everything. I quickly became bitter with him for not being here to take care of his poor, pitiful, pregnant wife and allowed the frustration to continue to grow over the next couple of days. Thankfully in one of my quiet times our great God spoke to me with a strong rebuke…
Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." – Jeremiah 17:5-8
God revealed to me that the root of my anger and frustration was that I had been putting my hope and trust in my husband rather than in my God! I longed for a sense of security and protection but I was looking in the wrong place. God showed me that HE allowed all of this to happen, especially when Josh wasn’t home, so that I could really learn to trust in HIM rather than the strength of man!”
