Rearguard missionaries l REFLECTION
Don't think that those who do missions are just those in the field. Analyzing the Scriptures we find the story of the widow of Serepta. She was not called by God to prophesy to the king, to leave her land, none of that. She was called to support a project of God that was in progress.
And who called that woman? Who appointed and chose that woman for that job? God himself called that widow to support the ministry of the prophet Elijah. Thus, she had a call from God and she was a participant in the work that Elijah himself was involved in. The God who called and inserted Elijah in that mission also called that widow to keep the mission
The Word of God says: “Arise, go to the Serephath of Sidon, and dwell there. I commanded a widow woman there to support you ′′ (1 Kings 17.9). I don't find in the Word that that woman was aware that God had involved her in the prophet's work. Now she was part of the prophet Elijah's project without even knowing it, but she was part of it.
I believe that in the same way many today are not aware that they were called by God to the service of missions, that they were chosen, inserted in the eternal service of God. They are in full mission, involved by God in the service of missions and they don't even know it.
Many nourish the burning desire to do missions, to be one day in the field of missions and don't even know that they are already involved and committed to missionary service. This happens because the missions spotlight is focused only on one end of the missions service.
And here is an evil tactic. Satan creates this figure of “glamor” that is the missionary, he puts all the attention and all the light on whoever is in the field, he draws all the attention and makes the mission field the desired place as if it were something super special to be a missionary, but it doesn’t exist missionary in the field without missionaries at the edge of support. God's Word is clear that "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)
I don't want to devalue the work of those who are in the field and say that there is no due value, but the whole process is important. The distorted view of something is often formed by the carnality of some who paint and present missions in the wrong way, romanticized by generating a false expectation of life in missions. So the rearguard missionaries feel inferior, useless and stop supporting, causing damage to the mission field.
Every time you find a missionary developing a project, know that there are many other missionaries on the other end, men and women faithful to the LORD, faithful to the call, holding the rope for the mission to move forward.
PHOTO: With a group of missionaries from Brazil visiting the Support Points in Bolivia. On this day we had to walk 15 kilometers on foot because of the political stoppages.
But what was the name of that widow? Whose widow was she? The bible says she was from Sarepta, but it doesn't say her name or her husband's name. We do not have this information, because the Spirit of God did not want to leave this information. In the same way, many people who are at the top of the line do not have their names known anywhere.
That woman did not seek recognition, but God knew her very well, her situation and called her to be part of an eternal service. Her story was written in the Book that will exist for all eternity. The widow who supported Elijah was not being moved by obligation, because no one, no man, ordered her to do that service. What she did was moved by the Spirit of God.
I want to end this letter by telling you something that happened when my daughter Deborah was a few months old. Mina and I were getting ready to sleep in our first rented house in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Mina asked me to look at the powdered milk to make the bottle.
As Mina got Deborah ready for bed I looked in the milk can and there was nothing left. I knew I didn't have money to buy powdered milk for her, but I went to my wallet to see if I had at least a few coins to buy liquid milk; and I didn't even have money for a liter of milk in my wallet.
I left the house and I was wondering what to do. At that moment I remembered that the Lord said that he would be my sustainer, my maintainer and that HE would be with me. Then at that very moment a Word came to my heart: "Someone has the money and didn't send it to you"
That Word was very strong in my heart and I knew that it was not a thought, but the Spirit of God. I went back and told Mina that we should think of something to give Deborah to eat that night and the next day I would look for something to do about our situation.
There was some liquid milk in the fridge, I mixed it with water, we heated it up and put it in the bottle. Deborah drank the milk and slept through the night.
The other day, very early in the morning, I got up to pray and looked at my cell phone. There was a message from my brother Tiago Edson saying that a certain servant stopped by my father's house and left some money to send me. My father, busy with the construction of the temple, doing one thing and another, did not make the deposit, but in that message my brother told me that in the first hour the money would be deposited in my account.
My question is: Who sent that brother to send me that money just in the moment of so much need? I could tell many other testimonies like this one of God's provision, but I conclude by saying that the call to sustenance comes from God and it is important for you to understand this.
Understand that you are where God commands; not out of emotion, not out of obligation, but with love in fulfilling the call, for it is the Lord who calls. Even if the position of the one who is at the end of support does not appear much, it is not in evidence. I say with certainty that there is no missionary in the field without the missionaries of support. The God who calls the one who goes to the field is the same God who calls the one who maintains, but the Work is of God!
God bless you
Peniel Nogueira Dourado
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