Surprised by God at Christmas | A brother serving in Asia

As I considered serving the Lord abroad I had many doubts about whether he would really provide for my needs as a Christian worker on the field.

Yes, I had read missionary biographies, which spoke of God's wondrous provision for others, but would he really provide for me, a former telecom manager living in suburbia? Could I leave the comfort and security of home?

The culmination came while writing a paper for a Greek class on Philippians 4.19. The word 'provide' in the Greek has the deeper meaning of 'perfect provision', similar to the idea of one of those self-serve coffee machines that are programmed to perfectly fill a cup with just the right amount at the press of a button, i.e. not too much and not too little ... perfect.

A few weeks later I left to work in an Asian country as a Christian professional. Although the country in question does not allow traditional missionary work, they do welcome Christians to assist in such areas as education, and development work. Such work provides opportunities for friendships to be formed and for the gospel to be presented on a one to one basis. In the years since my departure to Asia God has proved his faithfulness time and time again. This story tells of his mercy and love to a family who ventured out in faith, left their own culture, abandoned a professional career path acceptable to their compatriots, and put creature comforts behind them to serve God in a 'creative access country'.

Faithful servants

John and Nancy (names changed) were in a large city where John was teaching in the university. They had just had a new baby. Christmas was rapidly approaching and they were busy making plans to entertain John's students. This was for several purposes.

The first was to love them in the name of Christ. University can be a lonely experience for students and many an intransigent heart has been softened by a consistently loving witness. This was an on-going process. Another was to tell their students about the cultural background of Christmas. Another was to explain the Christmas story. Many of the graduate students John taught were completely ignorant of Christ. So they had people in for meals. An invitation home for a meal means a lot in most cultures. It demonstrates real friendship. John and Nancy's 11 year-old daughter winsomely explained the extraordinary truth of the gospel starting with the Christmas story.

The graduate students and John's colleagues applauded her at the end of her talk. A great hush descended on the room as the learned men and women stopped their conversation to ponder the enormity of the truths the child had just proclaimed to them. Her parents then explained how people celebrate Christmas in their country. The students were fascinated by their accounts of snow and recollections of foreign parts, as they tentatively nibbled on the exotic and unfamiliar Western food that was served, and listened to the Christmas carols that were taught to them that evening. Some said that the tunes were not alien to them. One said that his grandparents had sung songs with similar tunes to him as a child. Yet few in that city understood the meaning. Fewer than 2% of people there know God.

Death imminent

As the Christmas season advanced it became apparent that John and Nancy' s baby was seriously ill. This stressful situation was complicated by the request from the university to move house a few days before Christmas. As their daughter' s condition steadily got worse, top doctors were consulted. They confirmed John and Nancy' s worst fears: their daughter might die. The problem was pneumonia. They were not sure what variety of pneumonia it was. The child was too sick for evacuation by air. Emails were sent off. A new broad-spectrum medicine for infants had been released in early November of that year. It was only available in a few major Western cities. The child was dying. The doctors feared she would not last another 24 hours. It was the night before Christmas.

Chaos?

In the normal course of events John and Nancy offered a caring welcome to their well-kept home. Things were different now. John and Nancy were moved to temporary housing. All the Christmas decorations lay in a pile in the corner. Boxes and suitcases were randomly strewn around the two small rooms that their family occupied. They and the children were exhausted from loss of sleep, the demands of moving home, and consultations with doctors. Had their venture to witness to Christ in a developing country so far away from home, where they had some of the best medical facilities in the world, been one terrible mistake?

Internationals united

The family was part of a team in that city. The team of other expatriate Christians teaching in other schools was united in intercession at that time. Emails were sent off to distant countries alerting others to the urgency of the child's situation. Local believers were notified. People of very different cultures stood united by Christ with this couple in prayer.

Timely encounter

Christmas Day came. The baby showed no sign of improvement. John decided to have his quiet time with the Lord on the streets of the city. As he walked down a long boulevard outside the university he ran into a man he had never seen before. He wished him 'Merry Christmas'.

They exchanged pleasantries and then the man said something. He said: 'If you ever need any help please let me know.' He explained that he had been sent by his organisation to work for their office in the city two weeks prior to that Christmas Day. John told him about the baby. He told about the new drug which had just been released. The man then explained that head office had asked him to bring in a box of medicines when he came.

The chance of the new medicine being in the box of assorted medicines was slim. It had been released just four weeks prior to the man's move overseas.

Good provider

The two men went to the office and opened the box. At the bottom lay the newly approved broad-spectrum drug for infants. The medicine was given to the child a few hours later. The little girl responded very quickly.

Exuberant rejoicing

Everyone was overjoyed at the way God had provided so perfectly for the baby's urgent need. Our fellowship with John and Nancy and fellow team members was marked that Christmas with a deep sweetness and rejoicing, knowing that God is faithful. His word says: 'And my God will meet all your needs in Christ Jesus'. In addition to that perfect Christmas provision, we rejoiced in the knowledge that friends in that province had come to know the Saviour that year.

Requests

Since then God has demonstrated, on many occasions, that he is utterly faithful, be it on furlough or in Asia. His word is true.

If God is calling you to serve him overseas, will you go? If he is calling you to support and pray for those working on the mission field, will you be obedient to your calling? Will you take him at his word? Our loving heavenly father can be trusted. He promises, 'Those who honour me I will honour' (1 Samuel 2.30). How good is the God we adore. What a privilege to serve him and see him bring people into the kingdom. Please pray that I would be faithful to God's call on my life. Praise God for his faithfulness.