Dealing with My Stuff

"For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." Matthew 11:30, NAS.

While I must confess that over the years I’ve trusted in Coca-Cola to get me through a lot of cross cultural stress, I am today a satisfied customer of the Lord, Jesus Christ. That has not always been the case. God had to deal with a lot of my “stuff” first.

This year, my mother was in a bad car accident, and my father died. You heard right, my dad is dead. I’ll never see him again until Jesus takes me home. The fear that something would happen to my parents while I was on the other side of the planet was one that I carried with me like a crown of thorns on my head for many years. With the car accident and my dad’s death, my fears came true. My heart hurt to the point I thought I was having a heart attack.

One morning I sat before the Lord asking Him what He wanted me to do with yet another group of volunteers from the U.S. This was the second group of volunteers I had worked with in a single month. God impressed me to take them to the Chinese temple.

“But Lord,” I argued, “I’ve never taken a group to a Chinese temple. That’s not even my people group.”

God said, “Jenny,* are you going to argue with Me or obey me?”

I pushed my crown of thorns into my flesh, and said, “Okay Lord. I’ll obey.”

At the temple, I watched the hopeless expressions on the faces of the Chinese as they burned incense and prayed to false gods to earn enough merit hopefully to save themselves. It nearly broke my heart. God said, “Are you any different from those people Jenny? That crown of thorns you’ve been wearing makes you just like them. Do you think that your self imposed suffering will earn My approval? Are you trying to save yourself?”

In my mind’s eye, I saw the Lord taking the crown of thorns from my head. “This isn’t the crown I’ve prepared for you,” He said. Then He took out a glittering, jeweled tiara and placed it on my head. At that moment I realized that for years I had shouldered the burden of my parents, people group, and ministry as if I had to earn the approval of my Lord. My service to the Lord had been burdensome like a crown of thorns instead of being joyful like a treasure to be displayed and cherished.

“Jenny, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Just follow and trust me,” my Lord said.

It turns out that the Lord had another reason for sending me to the Chinese temple. Our tour guide happened to be from my people group. God opened up a wonderful opportunity for me to share truth with this young man. Yes, I am a satisfied customer. The grace of God is sufficient for all my fears, and by that grace, I’ll not take up the wrong crown again.

*Name changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

God will teach His cross cultural servants to be yoked with Jesus and not to carry the weight of ministry under their own strength.

Believers in the Pacific Rim will be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, even if it leads in a direction they have never gone before.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.