Isaiah 48;10

Behold, I have refined thee but not with silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction’

• DAILY READING – Romans 2:1-3:8; 1 Samuel 10:17-11:15; Psalm 56

William Carey was one of God’s giants in the history of evangelism! His life inspired tens of thousands to give themselves for the spread of the Gospel. Carey is known as the “Father of Modern Missions.” However this great man suffered a lot of tragedies that left him discouraged. But that didn’t stop him from finishing his race.

Born in England in 1761, his childhood was spent in poverty, and he became a shoemaker’s apprentice. Carey encountered Christ, and  entered the ministry, pastoring a small Baptist church as he continued to make shoes. He was a bi-vocational pastor with a love for learning. By the age of 21 he had learned Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian. Through his reading and learning God impressed upon him the great need to spread the Gospel throughout the world. However at a minister’s meeting as Carey stood and passionately shared his heart to reach the world, he was shouted down by a senior minister “Young man, sit down: when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”

Though greatly resisted, Carey gathered other missionaries and formed the Baptist Missionary Society. He planned to go to India to spread the Gospel, but the mission to India was not as glorious as he might have imagined. He struggled to convince his wife to join him. She was pregnant and did not want to have a child in a foreign land. Eventually, he talked his wife into joining him in India by convincing his sister-in-law to join them. The British East India Company opposed their trip, they found it hard to sail until a Danish ship gave them passage to Calcutta.  Carey’s family faced extreme hardship as he labored on the field. Carey contracted malaria, his five year old son died, and his wife, Dorothy, literally went insane. She often accused Carey of adultery and even threatened him with a knife. Carey had to confine Dorothy to a single room and keep her physically restrained. For years, Carey worked tirelessly, yet could not make a single convert for 7 years.  Eventually his labour bore fruit and in the course of his 41 year ministry in India, he would see many people convert to faith in Christ. When he died at 73 (1834), he had seen the Scriptures translated and printed into forty languages, he had been a college professor, and had founded a college that still exists and thrives today. As a result of all the hardships Carey faced, this great missionary pioneer sometimes suffered bouts of discouragement. It was what one biographer called ‘sheer black depression’. Yet he didn’t give up, he kept pressing forward, faithful to the calling that God placed on his life.

Anyone who is getting ahead in life is always going to have to overcome discouragement. As long as you are getting up and trying to do something with your life you will have to overcome setbacks. But the difference between the winners and losers is the way they view setbacks and adversities. While losers see it as the end of the road, winners only see it as a bend in the road. You will always find that many of the people who have ever risen to greatness had to pass through roads of discouragement. Even in the bible, we find several stories that indicate this. When Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison, it appeared initially to be the end of the road for him. Imagine how discouraging it was to be in prison for 2 years over a crime you did not commit. Yet he didn’t give in to discouragement. He rather chose to spend his time in glorifying God. And God turned it all around for him.

When you find yourself in a situation that is not palatable, it is easy to fall into discouragement. But no matter how it may look like always know that God is greater than anything that you may face. Your life is in His hands. He can pull you out of any pit or prison, as long as you trust in Him.

In Isaiah 43: 1-2 God says ‘ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.’

Yes, you may pass through the fire, but be assured that as long as God is with you, you will not be burned. Whatever you pass through in the course of life’s journey God will see you through. So don’t accept discouragement, don’t accept failures, don’t settle with depression. Don’t sit back and bemoan your situation, don’t give up. Get up and keep moving forward. When God is with you it’s only a matter of time before you win. Keep looking onto Jesus. Instead of complaining just be thankful to God, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

PRAYER:  Lord please help me to wait upon you, so that by Your Spirit I can  understand what is going on in my life. Despite what it may look like outwardly, help me always to know that even now you are working out your perfect will in my life in Jesus Name..

 quote

To get into the next level of your life, God will always give you a specific instruction. – WORDBITE 222.

 [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]