Commit Thy Works Unto the Lord
A letter from the Editor – Ron Barnes
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This is a line from a poem entitled, To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up in Her Nest with a Plough, written by Robert Burns.
I’ve done them all: Planning seminars, strategic planning books, webinars, podcasts, and in fact, I’ve been asked to lead and teach quite a few myself. Certainly, there is merit to careful, thoughtful, and strategic thinking, planning, and leadership. After all, it was Jesus Himself who said, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28 KJV).
Yes, planning is important for any organization, including, ministry. But planning should never crowd out the direction God gives through the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of the believer.
“There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand” (Proverbs 19:21 KJV).
In our leading we ought to seek to be listening. Listening to the counsel of the Lord, which gives us guidance if we will follow the path which He so often clearly prepares for us.
God has blessed Source of Light with Godly leaders who provided Godly direction, because of a habit of following the “counsel of the Lord,” and not getting ahead of Him (Psalm 33:11).
“Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3 KJV).
For generations now, almost 70 years, we have sought the counsel of the Lord and committed that “work” to Him; and He has given time and time again the “thoughts” that our leadership has needed for the task. And, we have followed where He has led. In fact, I would go so far as to say every step SLM has taken has been at His direction.
These last few months it has been clear that God has been on the move, prompting potential partners to reach out to share their burden to join with us. These have been “cold contacts” for SLM, not because we haven’t been involved with them, per se, just that we didn’t know them. God has been warming them up for the right season to inquire of SLM, the ministry that impacted them in their lives and their ministries, and how they can now deepen their involvement and partnership.
Recently, the former regional director of a well-known ministry based in the United States decided to move to Spain to follow the Lord’s calling on him and his wife. “Jorge” sensed God calling Him to Spain, but didn’t really understand why and to do what, only that there seemed to be a great need. Responding to the call, he arrived in Spain and after assessing the needs of the country, reflected back to the early days of his own ministry, when he first worked with the discipleship ministry of SLM, and that was exactly what the church in Spain needed.
The resources SLM can provide, with the training and encouragement that comes along in the process, was exactly why Jorge turned to SLM for more than just resources, but to join us as our missionary in Spain.
Another recent illustration of God using the ministry of SLM to open doors we knew nothing of came from a recent trip to Cusco, Peru. At a pastors’ seminar I heard testimony after testimony of how God used the SLM materials to see these men come to faith, be discipled, and be called into the ministry.
One pastor recalled coming from a church that used the SLM courses. That church also encouraged each of their young people to go to college to prepare for the ministry. This man wasn’t sure he was called to ministry; in fact, even doubted he was. But he honored the wishes of his pastor and attended.
One outreach of the school was to go into nearby villages with the SLM lessons and go door to door handing them out to those who would take them. An elderly lady gladly took one of the lessons, and they promised to return the following week with the next lesson if she completed it.
Week after week they returned to the house of that lady, only to get no response from knocking at her door. After nearly a month they returned again, this time, to a younger man loading some boxes into a van. They inquired of this young man what happened to the lady and he said sadly that she had passed away in the night a few weeks earlier. Saddened about asking such a difficult question, they offered to help load boxes in the man’s van.
As they loaded the boxes, a familiar piece of literature sat on the top of one of the open boxes. It was that SLM lesson. He told the man it was that lesson that he was returning to pick up and was wondering if the son would mind him looking at it. The son agreed. As they looked through the lesson the elderly woman clearly had read it indicated by her personal markings and answers to the questions. To their amazement she had completed the whole lesson. But what was particularly moving was that they discovered the elderly woman had made a decision for Christ the very night she received the lesson. She signed the date. It was also the very night that she passed away. Within hours of receiving the lesson, that elderly woman was shown the plan of salvation, made a decision to follow Christ, and was taken Home within minutes.
That day, this man knew exactly what God wanted for him to do with his life. He finished Bible College and has been a pastor and church planter for nearly thirty years now. He came to that meeting so he could reconnect with SLM and open new doors in an unreached jungle area using the SLM courses.
These works of God are not just in Peru and Spain. We are currently having similar, almost verbatim discussions with Mozambique, Tanzania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ireland, Norway, Dominican Republic… and many more.
This issue of the Reaper will tell more stories of how God is continuing to use a legacy of committing the work of SLM to the Lord and allowing Him to guide our thoughts and steps as He directs. Continue to pray that we will be faithful to hear and heed.