Now that I’ve come to know the Lord, I realise how heartbreaking it must be for Him to see His creation turn to other gods. I also realise just how loving, patient and faithful He is to have pursued me in spite of my past disobedience.

I find it difficult to imagine myself living in a world where I would be publicly persecuted for believing in or proclaiming the Truth. Paul states in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing would separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. I wholeheartedly believe that.

But it does make me wonder … If I knew Christ, only to enter into circumstances which threaten my expression of faith, would I shake hands with the convenient half-truths, the counterfeits, the prince of the power of the air? Would I be a Daniel?

As Mel shared in the day two post, religious violence is very real in some parts of the world. It’s obvious enough that Satan is at work to confine the development of the innocent children – our future generations. But let that threat not stop us from reaching out. Instead, I pray that it would spark in us an urgency to intercede for these unforgettable little lives and the churches in these endangered areas.

Mel’s day three experience in Kolkata brings to mind various forms of poverty. These street kids would not only have been materially poor, they would’ve grown up with a smorgasbord of gods demanding their reverence and even worship. How on earth would and could a child sift through a mass of religious traditions, the so-called “culture” in their society, to find transparent truth, and be set free?

Still, I find comfort in knowing that shining lights like Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying have been a refuge for those walking through the valley of the shadow of death. God promises that we would not need to fear any evil even in the darkest hour, but to walk “through” it. There is hope in receiving His comfort.

He is the Light of the world.

Take three!

Mel Carswell in India – Day Three

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Could it be that perhaps God sees a more complete picture of this life than we do from our limited perspective? Maybe He sees the whole where we just see part …

Karl, a Norwegian fisherman, had taken his two teenage sons out for a day of fishing. The morning had been beautiful when they started out, but the afternoon turned nasty – in a hurry – catching them too far at sea to beat the incoming storm to shore. The wind-whipped ocean began to work into a frenzy, until he and his sons were battling for their lives. As darkness fell on their frantic efforts, even the steady beacon of the seaside lighthouse was suddenly extinguished by a terrific bolt of lightening. Hope seemed lost.

But things were actually worse than Karl knew. Lightning had also struck his home and the structure quickly erupted into a fireball. So when Karl and his sons finally staggered ashore, exhausted, he was met by his wife with the bad news.

Strangely, Karl seemed unfazed, much to his wife’s frustration. As he stroked her tear-lined face with his tough, leathery hands, he said, “Don’t you understand, sweetheart? When the lighthouse went out, the glow on the horizon became my compass. The fire that destroyed our house guided us home.”

Poverty is evil, no question about that. But God is still working in the midst of it. He is creating beauty out of ashes. We might not be able to see everything that He can, but we can trust Him because …

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV)

Compassion Vice President of International Program, Mark Yeadon, shared this story last week during our quarterly ministry update. It is taken from a devotional from Family Life.

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“What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?”
-Psalm 8:4, NIV

A few years ago I learned something shocking yet humbling. I learned that I ought not to have joined the Compassion Child Sponsorship Program; that I was the last choice in a process involving 60 other children my age and my name was not even originally on the list.

I learned that it was actually my cousin, who is also called Anthony Njoroge, who ought to have been enrolled in to the program. The only thing that stood in his way was his age; he was seven years old instead of the preferred age of six years old. When my aunt was asked to recommend someone else to take her son’s place she remembered me, and that’s how I came to be enrolled in Compassion.

Now I look back at this and see so many lessons that as a Christian I need to remember but most of the time keep forgetting as I journey through life:

Lesson 1
That love and sacrifice conquers all. Just like God giving his son to die on the cross instead of me, my aunt chose to have her son exempted from the program so that I could enjoy the benefits of the program even with the full knowledge that she, too, was in need, if not more.

Lesson 2
That God indeed thinks of me and He has a plan for me regardless of how far behind I might be in life or how many odds are against me. Surely His plan and purpose for my life will be fulfilled as long as I keep my mind stayed on Him.

Lesson 3
That indeed all things work for good to those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, and there is nothing that takes place in my life that catches Him by surprise.

I can’t justify or explain any of these circumstances or factors that led to me joining Compassion, but one thing I know is this: it was the best thing that happened in my life.

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