Effortless in Love and Trust

After I received the message at the beginning of this year of Effortless 2024 from God, preached Psalm 46 and released the message, I invited several co-workers to preach on the theme Effortless 2024 for the Sunday services during this last month. Among them, the experience of the African couple Richard and Sharon was especially touching.

They have joined our co-worker team for two years now and as early as a decade ago, God had already given them the vision of taking Chinese Christians to Africa to spread the gospel. Though they came to China many years ago, they had no clue at all as to how the vision would be realized. All they could do was waiting in prayers. Thank God for bringing them to 611 so that our vision of Planting Trees of Life Everywhere can be actualized in Africa. God reigns and works in all things and can make both our and their visions come true in Him. We can be effortless in love and trust.

In March 2020, they departed from Hong Kong to South Africa for a vacation, expecting to be right back as soon as it finished. They never imagined that they would have a hard time returning to Hong Kong. It took them 22 months and more than 500 thousand Hong Kong dollars to finish the return route which was normally a 14-hour ride by plane. The lockdowns and cancellation of flights during the pandemic obstructed their way, but their determination to press on toward the goal instead of giving up was truly touching.

It took them 14 trips in total going back and forth between airports over East Africa, Middle East and Europe to finally embark on the flight to Hong Kong. When they felt helpless like drifting in the deep ocean, God revealed to them 2 Kings 13, in which Elisha told the king to take the arrows to strike the ground and he struck it three times and stopped. Elisha said he should have struck more times (ref. 2 Kings 15-19). It was the bible verses that kept them moving ahead. They have decided that so long as they had the money, they would go on in every attempt to come back Hong Kong. Finally they succeeded.

God is our strong tower and we can only be effortless in the Lord when we have love and trust for Him. Though Richard and Sharon encountered great difficulties, they persisted on God’s vision and against all odds, they are able to join our team of co-workers at last. Richard is now pastoring our ANEW team and Sharon became one of our Levite teachers. I believe that God will surely use them mightily to bless the nations and to become a bridge joining China and Africa.

Dear brothers and sisters, neither circumstances nor economic hardship can prevent us from following God as He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). Despite all the challenges ahead, we do not look at the difficulties but to fix our eyes on God and we will definitely triumph in the Lord and be effortless in love and trust.■【2024.02.04】