It's not Worth it. The Mission, Part 2

"However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him. They said, 'You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them.'" (Acts 11:2-3, GW)

I prayed, and my Heavenly Father came through with a mission for me. He showed me clearly that I was to begin an online prayer ministry.

To be perfectly honest, it left me scratching my head. I had no idea how to do this!

I begin by contacting people I know who were Christians. Some were from my church, others were online contacts. Interestingly enough, everybody I talked to had the same message: "It's a waste of time."

I was surprised that all of them were trying to discourage me. Did I hear my Father correctly, or did I just imagine it? It's then that I remembered that the only one who likes to discourage us is the evil one. Bible verse accuse. It's his way to discourage us so that we will not honor God. Rev 12:10. Now I had a decision to make: Should I listen to men, or should I listen to my Heavenly Father?

Guess who I choose? My Father, of course! Even though Christians, even my own friends, tried to discourage me in this mission, it didn't mean I needed to listen to them; and in the end, I have never regretted my decision.

I have learned through my decades of life that whenever our Father gives us a mission, we will be criticized. Especially by believers. After all, who would we tend to listen to the most? Someone who doesn’t know God? No way! We would be much more likely to listen to believers, and as a result, this is the best way for the evil one to discourage us. Let’s be sure to remember that if everybody agrees with our mission, we may have the wrong mission; and if it is something important to God, we will definitely be criticized for it.

I prayed a lot during those days. I enjoyed my time with my father, for it was here that He gave me instructions: ‘Send an inspirational devotional written by someone else every week, followed by a list of prayer requests.’ I followed those instructions. Within days, with no advertising, I had a readership of 20 people, and the following week I began to receive prayer requests.

In Florida a lady who was dedicated to God emailed me and told me that a group of twenty Catholic, spirit-filled people were praying every Monday for my ministry. Wow! At one time a terrible hurricane was heading for Florida. I joined them in prayer, and that hurricane never reached Florida. Our Father redirected the storm.

Within 6 months, the ministry began to blossom, but that is another story for another day. The point for today is this: We either choose to follow God’s advice, or the advice of men.

What is your choice?

Rob Chaffart