Page 73 - BACK TO BETHLEHEM

That’s why my life is so exciting now. It wasn’t always
this way. When I was young I prayed, “Deliver me.” As He
opened my eyes more I say, “Keep me.” But now I don’t care
if He delivers or keeps. Now I say, “Father, glorify thy name.”
My wife has muscular dystrophy. It’s missionary muscular
dystrophy. I have congestive heart failure. It’s missionary
congestive heart failure. It’s all about missions. It’s all about
others. It’s not about us.
Some people have missionary singleness. Some people
have missionary cancer. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the north
wind or the south wind. Sometimes when Jesus lives in you
He’ll go to the hospital. That’s exciting! What is He up to?
In Acts 16 it was the same. They tried to go north and
the Spirit closed the door. They tried to go south and the Spirit
closed the door. Then they got a dream to go to Macedonia and
when they got to Macedonia they found Lydia and God opened
her heart. And then a demon possessed woman came and the
town came against Paul and Silas and they met him. He didn’t
send out prayer letters saying, “Pray for me.” He said, “This is
wonderful! What is God up to?” Then they dragged him across
the street and then they put him in a dungeon and in the dungeon
they were sang praises to the Lord. Then God gave an
earthquake and then the jailor said, “What must I do to be
saved?” It’s all redemptive. Therefore, it’s exciting. I wake up
excited. “What is God going to do today?” If He wants to have
missionary forgetfulness, He can have it (I have dementia).
Jesus in His first body allowed Himself to get weary and
He sat down by a well and along came the Samaritan woman.
He’s now in His new body and maybe we’ll get weary. It’s
okay. It’s redemptive. He knows where the Ethiopian is. So,
off goes Philip. He knows where the Samaritan woman is. He
knows where the tax gatherer is. He knows where Zaccheus’
tree is. He knows who is meditating under the fig tree. He’ll
take some to the athletic field and He’ll take some to a mission
field and He’ll take some to the hospital. We need to be little
children; helpless and dependent. We need to be totally
surrendered. It doesn’t matter whether it is a northwind or
71