Rest in the Shadow
Do you know what Rivers of the World (ROW) needs more than financial contributions, donations of supplies and people volunteering to serve with us? One of the most important and vital things that ROW needs is your prayers.
When we serve overseas, we are faced with many challenges and dangers. We risk contracting malaria, drinking unsafe water, ingesting contaminated food, being vandalized by bandits and being injured walking through jungles, canoeing in dangerous rivers or traveling by car on hazardous roads.
One particular trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) I will certainly not forget. Me and my team were able to fly only as far as an airport that was located 150 miles away from our base in Lusambo. Now, to travel 150 miles in Mississippi by car would take a little over an hour. In the jungles of the DRC, traveling 150 miles took us 20 hours riding in the back of a pickup hanging on for dear life. Physically, this was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done.
As darkness fell, our driver said, “We can go no farther. We are about to be attacked by bandits.” Naturally, I pulled out my big knife that I carry, I armed one of my staff and we locked everybody else inside the truck. We stayed awake all night waiting to be ambushed by the bandits. As morning dawned, we made it to the river. We were able to do ministry in a half dozen villages. On the return trip, same story. We made it just far enough and again we were told that we were about to be attacked by bandits. Me and one of my staff members stood guard as the rest of the team was locked safely in the truck. There were no actual attacks by any bandits that time, but the threat and danger was very real.
Now most of us will never be in a situation like that in the DRC, however, many of face dangers equally threatening and challenging. These may include the diagnosis of a terminal illness, the prognosis that your unborn child will not survive long after birth or the forecast of more rain in your town that is already suffering from flooding. Many of us deal with the everyday fears and trials that at times can consume us and leave us weary with no strength to carry on.
Let me encourage you today to hold fast to the Word of God. Find strength in Psalm 91:1-3:
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”
The secret to having peace in the midst of the storm is to dwell or abide in Christ. We do this by planting the Word deep within our hearts and by staying close to the Father through prayer. No matter our circumstances and regardless of the dangers in our lives, we can find rest in the Lord because the very Creator of the universe is carefully and lovingly watching over every little detail of our lives.
