Several years ago, my wife LaVonne and i traveled with a team of university students to a country in the Middle East. God had granted us an opportunity to “sow seeds of the gospel” in a place where there were no known churches and very few followers of Jesus. Ironically enough, we were going to one of the places where the gospel was first proclaimed by the Apostle Paul and others two thousand years ago, but, in recent days, the lies of false religion had taken hold and now very few knew the truth.
The “seeds” we were sowing were four-fold. First, we would conversationally share our testimonies and the good news of the gospel whenever we had opportunity with those who could speak some English, since only a few of our team members knew the indigenous language. The second and third seeds were, respectively, videos and CDs in the native language that told the story of Jesus and the truth of the gospel. The fourth seed was a written booklet explaining the gospel in the indigenous language. In enlisting our help, our partner informed us that he had not previously done what he was asking us to do among this group of people. He had no idea how the people would react or respond to us. Since, at the time, we also had never done this before in this particular context, it would be a new experience for all of us – our team, our partner, and the people we would meet.
On our first full day in the country, we traveled to a mount that overlooked the capital city and we were captivated by testimonies of how God’s Spirit was at work in this land to make His Name known and draw His creation back to Himself. The testimonies not only heightened our awareness of God’s activity, but also our anticipation of what God could do in the days ahead among this people. Though our time on the mount reminded us that we were being invited by God to join Him in the work He was already doing, i don’t believe that we fully realized what that might look like over the next several days.
Because of the nature and purpose of this trip, very little of our itinerary was planned out. In many respects our time was similar to that described in Luke 10:1-12 when Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples. We visited where we were welcomed, and we ate and slept where hospitality was extended.
One day we felt led to visit a university campus on the other side of the city. Since we were not clear on how to get there, we took cabs to our destination. University campuses in this particular country are gated and require a security check for entry. Our “plan” was to have the cabs drop us off outside the gate, then we would seek permission to tour the campus. Apparently, our cab driver didn’t understand the plan. He drove us, with the other cabs following, right up to the gate. He exchanged remarks with the security guard. As he did, the conversation became more animated. i was in the lead cab without any of our indigenous language speakers. i, and those with me, had no idea what was being said, but we were certain that we were in trouble. We did the only thing we knew to do – we prayed! After a few more minutes of this, our driver drove us through the gate to a building somewhere in the heart of the campus. As we arrived at a building, a guard exited the building and walked directly toward us. We were certain that we were about to be reprimanded and escorted off the campus. As we were thinking through what we would say to the guard, he proceeded to walk right by us as if we weren’t even there. We were dumbfounded! Still having no idea where we were on campus, we decided to locate an area on campus where students who were studying English would be more apt to be. We decided the best place to start was by asking inside the building where we had just been dropped off by the cabs. Yes, you guessed it – this building housed the English language studies.
Each time i have since read the passage Acts 12:5-17 about how the angel of the Lord led Peter past the guards and out of the prison, i am reminded of the day the Spirit of God led us onto that campus. We ended up spending the day in the central lobby of the building having divine conversations with dozens of students throughout the day. The students even made sure that we got lunch! And before we were done, we had received a formal invitation from the faculty to return to the campus! Many seeds were sown – seeds that we entrusted to the Spirit of God to further cultivate to produce a harvest.
Here’s the point of my story. We knew that God had ordered our every step that day. We were so far out of our comfort zones that we were fully reliant upon Him. We honestly didn’t have any other choice. We knew that one wrong step and we would be in deep trouble. And God proved Himself faithful! That shouldn’t surprise us, but all too often it does. That isn’t a reflection on God – it’s a reflection on us – and our faithlessness!
The real challenge comes when we are walking through our days in our familiar surroundings. How often do we miss His leading when our senses are not quite so heightened, and our spirits are not so attuned to His activity and direction? The reality is that the same God who ordered the steps of the seventy-two disciples, the same One who led Peter out of prison and the same One who led us to those students studying English is able and desirous to lead us in His purpose for each and every one of our lives, each and every day.
The question is not – is He able? The question is – are we willing? Is it the cry of our hearts to see Him “do it again”? Do we truly desire to see Him make His Name known through our lives? Do we trust Him to do what is needed to bring about His purpose in and through our lives? Do we trust Him to tear down the walls? Do we trust Him for victory in the battle? Do we really desire to see Him “do it again”?
The writers of the song below write: “You have never failed me yet.” The fact of the matter is that He hasn’t failed us “yet” because He will never fail. He will never fail in His purpose and He will never fail us.
Our Father doesn’t need to make any adjustment to “do it again”. We’re the ones who need to adjust to Him. And when we do, He will grant us the joy and privilege to see Him “do it again” in and through our lives – for the furtherance of His mission – and for the glory of His name!
Do It Again
Walking around these walls
I thought by now they'd fall
But You have never failed me yet
Waiting for change to come
Knowing the battle's won
For You have never failed me yet
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You've never failed me yet
I know the night won't last
Your Word will come to pass
My heart will sing Your praise again
Jesus, You're still enough
Keep me within Your love
My heart will sing Your praise again
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed me yet
I've seen You move, come move the mountains
And I believe, I'll see You do it again
You made a way, where there was no way
And I believe, I'll see You do it again (Repeat)
I'll see You do it again
Oh-oh
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed (Repeat)
And You never failed me yet
I never will forget
You never failed me yet
And I never will forget
Songwriters: George Veikoso / Michael Stevenson / Nicholas Matthew Balding / Christopher Maurice Brown / Mark Kragen / Marc Randolph Griffin / Pia Mia Perez / Jerry Afemata
Do It Again lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management