Momentum (Christ – centred, Spirit – empowered, Mission – focused)
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”
There is something dynamic and magnetic about courage on display. It challenges something deep within us to stand up, hold fast and not shrink—even when the odds are against us.
A few weeks ago I was stirred by the courage of one of our new International Workers. His young family has settled in a volatile and unpredictable place. Many days rockets are launched into the areas surrounding their community and they must run for cover.
He and his wife, along with their infant daughter, were gracious enough to travel three hours on a bus to meet with me personally. We chatted about various things including the new apartment they had just rented. The young wife was so excited about the fact that they now had something she was so hoping for: a bomb shelter!
They shared with me their stories of challenge and difficulty. The young man has been arrested twice and threatened. He is no longer allowed to drive and is living under the ever-watching eye of the authorities. He is in the process of becoming a legal resident of this country, but the obstacles continue to mount.
In my heart I was asking, Why do you stay? It was almost like he could read my mind. He stated, “This is what they do here. They try and make life so difficult that you eventually give up and choose to leave.” He took a deep breath, and with a look of ferocious resolve, declared, “But that will not work with us! We are staying. These people need Jesus, and we are prepared to die in this land!”
For a moment I was speechless. It reminded me of the ferocious resolve of the early church when Peter and John faced persecution for healing a crippled man. When the church gathered to pray, they did not ask to be removed from the opposition, but rather they declared, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29).
One of the qualities that has enabled the Alliance to make such progress in the most difficult places of the world is this kind of ferocious resolve—a determination to stay even when the days are hard and the rewards are few.
I embraced this young family and told them I was proud of them. But it was more than that; I was humbled by their courage and unrelenting boldness.
I know today I am writing to some who are facing great opposition and discouragement. The odds seem stacked against you, and everything within you is telling you to run. I want to challenge you to take a deep
breath and determine to move forward with ferocious resolve.
“God is calling us at this time to a larger faith for this special work—the testimony of Jesus in all His fullness to all the world” — A.B. Simpson
“Why does a loving Father call for such sacrifices? Simply because His own love has made a greater sacrifice and He knows that we never can be partners in that kingdom of which love is the keynote and the fundamental law unless we too have learned the same great secret of love. The Kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of love.” — A.B. Simpson
Please find the original version in C&MA website