Beloved,
I am writing this before dawn in Delmas, Haiti. The crowded streets of the Port-Au-Prince metro area are beginning to wake. Roosters are crowing, and my boy is snoring in a dream like bliss. A few moments ago I finished preparing my sermon notes for the translator. And while doing this I asked myself, how is it possible that I have traveled to Haiti, my family’s home, to tell a suffering people that their suffering can bring glory to Christ and hope into their hearts as well as others. How could I dare tell this to a people who have suffered so much? How could I deliver this message to a man, a brother in Christ, who lost his only son in the earthquake? How could I express this message to a people who are scratching out a living, who go day to day searching for work? Why can’t I join the growing chorus who shout out about prosperity, provision, and blessings?
I praise God that I know who I am in Christ, and I know what the Holy Spirit has directed me to share with all who may listen. Like the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:3-5 and James, the righteous, in James Chapter 1, I have been called to tell a suffering people that their suffering is not in vain; in fact, it is for Christ and their own glory.
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17, ESV, my emphasis)
Oh a portion of me, a great portion at times, would love to speak about something other than suffering. But where others see trial, tribulation, and testing I see hope and glory. The Church, the faithful, who are joyful and steadfast through thick and thin are the most beautiful of God’s creation. Their loveliness is only surpassed by Christ’s, and I am transfixed by the glory that is and will be.
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev 19:6-8)
If we are patient and endure the Lord’s power and glory awaits us now and forevermore.
Abandon in Christ,
Pastor Beau
