“Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.”

Ecclesiastes 11:1

I am telling this story from memory, as told by a young pastor.  I am sorry that I don’t know the exact names and places. It should not distract from the beauty of the message God has for those reading this. 

It is a true story.  It had a great impact on me as an aging pastor.  It demonstrates how God works mysteriously in people’s lives to accomplish His purpose. 

Often, as shown in the book of Job, we don’t see the way God works and the mystery of the spiritual battles hidden from our eyes.  If we trust God completely, we are not discouraged when we can’t see the fruit of our labors or when our prayers seem to be ignored completely.  This is where faith comes into play, knowing that “our ways are not His ways, nor our thoughts His thoughts.”

This story is about the loss of someone’s faith (trust in God) because it seemed God was working against him to bring the gospel to a village in Africa.  

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A young husband and wife felt God’s calling to go to Africa.  It was an irresistible urge from The Lord to sell all they possessed and go to a small village on this large dark continent to tell the people the story of Jesus. 

After a long journey of planes, trains, and finally a jeep, they set up camp outside a particular village.  Once they settled in, they approached the chief of the village to tell him about Jesus, who cut them off and refused to hear them.  Not only would the chief not listen to their story about Jesus, but he also told the village to ignore these strange pale people and their god.

The husband and wife had little supplies, clothes, and the conveniences they enjoyed in the United States.  They began to pray for God’s guidance.  The chief was kind-hearted enough to supply them with some of their needs, such as water and food.  He sent a young boy regularly to bring them things so they could survive in the dense jungle.  The boy was not to speak to the couple.

But the wife would tell the story of Jesus to the young boy each time he arrived at their campsite.  He said nothing and returned to the village.

After many weeks, the wife became pregnant.  The husband suggested they return to the U.S., but as they prayed, they felt they needed to stay.  Sadly, the wife died giving birth to a little girl.  The husband was heartbroken and so discouraged.  He decided to put the young female up for adoption and move back to America.

Feeling abandoned by God, he left the work unfinished, As he thought about his failures, He soon lost his faith in God and began to drink.

The child he left behind became a young lady and wanted to find her birth father and mother.  She heard the father had moved to America.  After much research, she located his address at prepared to see him.  When she arrived at his apartment, she was surprised to walk into a filthy apartment.  Her dad lay drunk on his bed as she began to introduce herself and tell her story.  The father quickly sat up and heard the sobering words of the daughter he had long forgotten.

The young boy that heard the story of Jesus from his wife began to tell it to the village.  Soon the entire village was converted to Jesus.  Even the chief was converted, and the story of Jesus began to spread to the other villages!  The young abandoned daughter helped in the ministry there in Africa started by this young husband and wife who responded to the calling of God. These words became true for them and will be true for us:

“Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.”

Ecclesiastes 11:1

As I heard this story, I felt the conviction always to trust God regardless of the circumstances.  How often do we let our faith in Christ be affected by circumstances we didn’t anticipate?  I was discouraged when I planned a series of meetings expecting hundreds of people, but only a few came and sat in a large room filled with empty chairs.

Have you prayed for someone to be healed from a deadly sickness, and then that person died?  Are you discouraged when you give your life to God and things start to go wrong?  I once met a man whose mother died at age 92.  He was so discouraged that God let her die that he left the church and his faith in Jesus.

Are you discouraged and ready to give up on God when you have spent thousands of dollars to repair your car or home…when you’ve lost your job?  A few days ago, the motor in our 200-foot-deep well went out.  We tried to pull out the pipes and make repairs.  But we made mistake after mistake.  It will likely cost us thousands of dollars to get running water again.  But, praise God, He knows our trials and tribulations.  He has a hundred ways and purposes where we can see none.

Many people treat God like the ideal of Santa Clause. Ask, then get precisely what you requested.   We expect God to provide just as we want it…with ease, convenience, and no challenges.  But wouldn’t we be a bunch of spoiled brats if we got everything we wanted and when we wanted it?  I am reminded of Paul’s words:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1: 2-3

Job was known for his patience but also for surviving the testing of his faith.  He was so determined to trust God that he said these words:

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

Job 13:15

Knowing all this, I have begun to pray a prayer of preparation and trust.  It goes something like this. 

“Lord, I praise you for the good life I enjoy now. But when the bad times come, and they are sure to do so, let me trust in you and glorify your name in my spirit regardless of the circumstances.”

This story of the young husband and wife started on a narrow path that seemed to lead to a dead end.  But according to God’s own ways, it ended happily in the growth of God’s kingdom in Africa and the restoration of a man’s faith in his Creator.

How is your trust in God today?  Does it move like reeds in the wind when things don’t go the way you want them?  When things go badly, is your spirit downcast, and do you become irritable and unbelieving?   

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess 5: 16-18

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Trust Him today…regardless…