"By faith Abraham, when he was called...obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went," (Hebrews 11:8 KJV).
Envy, and its suspecting cousin suspicion, can present themselves in a reluctance to acknowledge the gifts and calling of another Christian. Take the astounding story of Bruce Olson, who embarked on a harrowing journey to reach a fierce tribal group called the Motilone. His adventure began when at nineteen years of age, he boarded a plane to Venezuela with seventy dollars in his pocket and no official backing.
Before his trip, Bruce applied for missionary backing, but he was not considered qualified. Still, he felt it impossible to resist the call of God to "GO" in spite of his rejection. His initial reception from certain missionaries on the field was negative. He was shunned and frowned upon by those critical he was moving ahead without official backing. Yet his faith held firm as he continued to do what he was convinced God had called him to do. The rest is history.
If we truly have faith in our sovereign God and King, we can trust Him when he calls and equips the most unsuspecting people. We can refrain from jumping to judgmental conclusions, and graciously surrender our strict methodologies for ministry. In other words, we can let God be God.
(Bruce's incredible story of faith and survival appears in: Bruchko And The Motilone Miracle: How Bruce Olson Brought a Stone Age South American Tribe into the 21st Century, by Bruce Olson and James L. Lund).
Dear God, thank you for remaining higher than the highest authority, existing above and beyond our too often biased human parameters, and never ceasing to amaze through your divine working of faith and love.
copyright 2016
Toni M. Babcock is author of The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens.
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