THE HEART TO PERSEVERE

The Bible says it won’t be easy to follow Jesus, that we’ll be subjected to ridicule and scorn. I have sure experienced this throughout my life. When I decided to give my life completely to Christ thirteen years ago, this was strongly challenged by the people closest to me, especially my parents. “Why move to a different church?” “Why give your tithes when we are also in need?” The questioning was constant. The church I joined in the Philippines had very few members and rented a small space where the ceilings and walls needed significant repairs. Despite insulting remarks from people, I didn’t allow anything to stop me from inviting everyone to come to church and worship Jesus. I held on tightly to God’s word in Joshua 24:15 that says, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I knew we would be serving the Lord together one day. I had to endure the times my parents kept rejecting God and my faith. But after five long years of praying incessantly and patiently ministering to them, God finally broke down the walls of what was seemingly impossible. My family accepted Christ and are still serving the Lord today! Challenges remained as we tried to bring Jesus’ message to others. I had led a team of young people on mission trips to various rural areas in the Philippines where people would yell at us and even throw buckets of water to drive us away. From a worldly standpoint, it was so difficult. But as a Christian, it was a joyous moment to be able to partake in Christ’s suffering and witness how the church has remarkably borne fruit and expanded through the years. I feel God is opening more doors for me every day. Jabez’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10 that says, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory” has since then become my personal prayer. I can see that the Lord is fulfilling this prayer in my life, having led me to leave my homeland to start a new life in South Africa with my loving husband and little one. I will open my heart to this new land and persevere, trying to bring many souls to Jesus, whatever the cost may be.