Don't Quit

"Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" Galatians 5:7

Good morning, dear friends,

Photo:  eva castro, pixabay

Yesterday our family attended a France-wide pastors' fellowship in the Paris area.

(Before I continue, may I just add an aside?  For those of you reading "Paris-area" and conjuring up a leisurely stroll down the Champs-Elysées with the Eiffel Tower in the background, think again.  We left ourselves an hour and a half margin to get there, and were still late for the meeting. Love Paris, hate Paris traffic.  Enough said.)

This annual meeting was started many years ago with my husband's father, and several other missionary and French national pastors, seeing the need for fellowship with other French pastors.  It has grown over the years, and each year the Lord blesses the meeting as pastors are strengthened and encouraged.  

My favorite part is the sharing time, where each pastor stands up and shares their ministries and how the Lord is blessing and working, and also their burdens in the work.  It always encourages me to see how the Lord is working around France, even in places where it seems the darkest:  God's light is shining brightly all over this country.  We may not always see His work, but He is working.

The theme was pressures and depression in the ministry.  Two things struck me as I was observing the meetings and the pastors there.  The first, was that the majority of the men present had grey hair.  Only a handful of the men and pastors' wives were under 60 years old.  Many of them were over 60.  While this is a blessed tribute to those men who have weathered the course and remained faithful to the Lord after so many years, it was also very telling.  The age of pastors and missionaries in France is aging, and there is not a replacement force coming up behind.

The other fact that struck me, was that my husband and I were the only couple represented near our age group.  The other pastors were either much older, or much younger.  A whole generation of missionaries, pastors and leadership was absent.  Where were the 40-somethings?

It was a moment of pause for our family, and struck me for the overwhelming need of France, and many other countries:  Where is the next generation of leaders?  Our Bible institutes in France are not full.  

If the Lord tarries, and He allows us to remain in France, even another 20+ years when we hit the 60-something age bracket, who will be with us, in the work here?  At those pastors' fellowships, when we sit among the other grey-haired men and women, will there be a force coming up behind us?

It was a sobering time for me.

One of the verses that the Lord impressed on my heart yesterday was Galatians 5:7: "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"  As this pastor (who was preaching faithfully through great physical pain yesterday) reminded me, it takes so little for us to get discouraged, and quit.  How many times has Satan whispered his lies to me, encouraging me to stop, even for a little while, and lose sight of the work God is doing in my own home, in my own backyard?

During another message, a pastor was sharing about 30 year prayers for salvation for an individual to whom he had been witnessing.  30 years.  If, as is so tempting at times, we quit and move on before God is done with us, will we see the fruits of long-term investments in the Lord's work?  

Lots of food for thought after yesterday's meetings.

May the Lord help me to stay faithful to Him.  May He help me to see the work He is doing in my own life, and in my own backyard.  May He help me to trust Him for the results in the work here.  

Thank you for praying and sharing with us!  Please keep praying for us here in France  God is working here, even when we do not always see the result.