MY LIFE: #30 Why All the Problems

Coming from a man who has spent many years avoiding problems, this lesson has become so personal that it has formed in me a belief that all trials I encounter are the gateway of testing faith.

WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHEN YOU NEED THEM?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

(Rom 8:28 NASB)

Did you know that indwelt believers need problems?  God allows problems or trials in our lives to bring us to the end of our self-life or an issue we are selfish about.  God has a purpose for all conflict and difficulties – it is certain to lead us to the inward life of Christ.  For the unsaved, it could lead them to the great exchange – salvation. 

Problems tend to steal our rest in Christ unless we adopt the attitude of the mind of Christ. 

Coming from a man who has spent many years avoiding problems, this lesson has become so personal that it has formed in me a belief that all trials I encounter are the gateway of the testing of my faith. 

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  (Jas 1:2-4 NASB)

I endure to this day to share my story with you! I have been “forced” through circumstances to discover the perfection of Christ in me.  I wish I could say that I have allowed His perfect results in me to be my daily experience, but I cannot.  I can say that His mission to accomplish such great perfection is at work in me daily.  To embrace the fullness of this positional revelation is my ongoing hope as I allow the release of Christ in me (conditional) to accomplish such work.   

GOING TO PRISON

Years back, I was invited by the President of Uganda to come and share my doctorate project (Faith-based Initiative) with his parliament.  After arriving in his country, I was invited to speak at the Kampala prison.  Upon arriving at the prison, I was escorted to the square where all the religious activities occurred.  On one end of the square, a group of 200+ Muslim men conducted “services” with their leader.  On the other end of the square were about 15 Christian men where I was to speak.  Since our group had the PA system, our worship and teaching were heard throughout the entire prison.  As I was standing and waiting to be called to speak, I heard the Lord say put away your notes.  Fighting the Lord as the men sang in a language I was unfamiliar with, He asked me again.  Frustrated, I took the notes out of my Bible and placed them under my chair.  Not knowing what the Lord was going to teach through me, I stepped out in faith. 

Once my interpreter and I were called to the stage, I was without words.  Then it happened, the Lord began delivering a message on the Ugandan people’s rebellion against their country’s authority. The message seemed to touch the lives of each of the men that were listening.  I began to notice the crowd growing from 15 men to 50 to 150 and ultimately noticed that every man from the Muslim group had joined us, including many prison guards.  Then I noticed that the leader of the Muslim group was walking across the square by himself, chanting, talking, and commanding the attention of the men, ultimately ending up in a “speak off.” 

He would say a few words, I would say a few words, and this went on until the Lord put in my mind to say there is an antichrist in your midst.  My interpreter said I stalled out for an extended period of time.  During that time, I faced a problem I had never been called to face before.  The Lord asks me if I was willing to give my life for Him today.  After my life literally flashed before me, I finally said, “I will.”  With that, my interpreter said I went into a 10 minute preach that I have no recall of what I said to this day.  All I know is that my interpreter said he could hardly keep up with my words.  When I came out of this preaching time, there were men on their faces weeping as the Muslim leader was walking away.  I asked my interpreter what was going on and he said they are begging for your God.  Many got saved that day and after 20 minutes of ministering to the men and guards, fifteen men gathered around me and forced me to the gate to leave the square.  Not wanting to leave, the interpreter said it is imperative that we leave now.  So, we did.

Three months after returning to America, the husband to the secretary of the President came to our ministry for discipleship training.  Within the first couple days of his arrival, he asked me if I heard what happen at the prison the day that I preached.  Not knowing what he was talking about, outside of the salvations, he proceeded to tell me that a riot broke out after I left. He went on to say that the warden put 15 Christian men to death by executing them in the center of the square as payment for this “Christian man inciting a riot.”  The event required the attention of the President, for the warden was demanding that international criminal charges be put against me.  After careful review, the President declared it an “act of God.” 

I learned that day the price of the Gospel, on my own life, as well as the lives of those Christian men.  It was difficult for me for many months to accept the truth that “God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God.”  Over time, I was finally able to embrace the deeper Truths revealed in this passage.  Problems, sorrows, death and life all have a purpose for God’s ordained purposes.