Our team in Southeast Asia experienced one of the world’s more extreme lockdowns as COVID started to sweep across the globe. Limited to movements only within their neighborhoods and only at certain times of day, many were not able to travel the short distance to the communities where they share the love of Christ with an unreached people group. Of course, these restrictions didn’t limit the Lord! Here, the team members reveal what God showed them during quarantine:
That he will never leave me nor forsake me.
Even in crisis, he is with us, his provisions are ongoing and overflowing. He is at work even when we are not.
That God cares about patience. During quarantine, my daily reading had taken me from Deuteronomy to 2 Samuel. The stories of God's incredible patience are astounding. David waits for the Kingdom, though all of Israel is ready for him to claim kingship and he has several opportunities to kill Saul. Again and again, God operates on scale of "long" and I live in a microwave. May God teach me more and more the peace in his ways and trusting for the long term.
His sovereignty. I can only plan but the final direction is his. I realized more that though my “work” in the community has been limited, God is really the One working in the hearts of our friends and growing them to discover who he is with the Holy Spirit's guidance.
To really make time to know him during quiet and solitude times. I have been reading a lot of his words from the Kitab (Bible) and pondering/meditating upon them. I’ve been relying on God and growing in truth to a deeper level from his promises and communicating with him more through prayers.
That he wanted the people to go back to him. That we are nothing without God. Whether you are poor or rich and have power and fame, you can't change the circumstances. And that the Word of God is true—what is written will come to pass.
His hand of providence over various situations, like allowing us to get in the country before things got locked down, providing extra food packs that we could use to help the suffering, letting us meet our language teachers in person before classes moved online. While the lockdown was really strict, I love that he's always in control and never surprised about how things turn out.
