I Never Thought I would do this (Part 2)
By Stephen L France
“You know Christianity in the mind. Now, you’re going to see it in action.” – Pastor Peter Loo
How does someone get you to do something you never thought you would do?
Sitting in Gatwick Airport Terminal, it was Fri Nov 4, 2016, and I was about to embark on an excursion I’d never ever desired.
I thought about what Pastor Peter of EEC had said to me the evening before – see Christianity in action – what does that mean?
My spirit was calm – almost like this was an inevitable part of my life, but my flesh was whispering thoughts that jumped between:
What are you actually doing here?
And
Let’s just get this over with, shall we?
Being absolutely transparent, I must stress yet again, I never wanted this. When I’d asked God on a Monday afternoon in February 2016: Lord, Cyprus Mission or India Mission? I’d wanted Him to answer “Cyprus.”
Between these two trips that my church offered, this mission was set for April 2016 which was nearer, timewise; it was also cheaper, less distance, less days out there, and I would be able to tick it off my Christian bucket list; never to have to go on mission again.
EEC Restoration Course. Tick.
EEC Identity Course. Tick.
Go on Christian Mission once in my life. Tick.
…but I’m sure you all know, our walk with God just doesn’t work this way at all.
“India Mission” was the answer He gave and like Abraham—though not as epic—I obeyed. [Genesis 12:1]
Stationed in Gatwick, the mission team were set – it was myself, leaders Femi Sofolarin and Mona Lisa, Shalom, Lydie Joanna, and Tayo Igbintade.
We’d shared fellowship, worship, the Word, testimonies, and prayer for the previous eight months, but I still didn’t know these people, what we’d be doing, or what India as a country was like – this experience would be new on all fronts.
The only concrete information I possessed, was that this was the very first action in my walk with God in which I was trusting Him with all my heart. [Proverbs 3:5 – 6]
I’d held anxiety about the flight for about a week and half prior. I feared God might try to bring the plane down and make a martyr of me. I’m aware this is a very strange thought, but this is where the wounds of the past come into play, and the enemy’s use of them.
As I mentioned in my previous post—at eight years old—I’d formed the belief that God the Father had betrayed me. In my twisted conception of the impending flight to India, I was thinking:
For the first time in my life, I’m actually loving the way things are. It’s just my luck but what’s going to happen is all my friends have seen this transformation; now God is going to make a martyr of me…
Apologies, I can’t even finish writing this thought. The whole idea sounds preposterous as I put it to paper. Suffice to say, I was fearful and I don’t possess a phobia of flying.
I then thought about the enemy wanting to stop our evangelical efforts as well, considering that when one embarks on mission, they are taking the literal meaning found in Matthew 28:19. If only I’d known Psalm 91 better, perhaps that time of fear could have been avoided, but a miraculous thing happened on the plane that enabled me to overcome this irrational apprehension – and we know that God can turn anything evil into good [Romans 8:28] [Matthew 19:26].
Besides trying out the concept of Matthew 7:7 and receiving three full meals and two desserts – a banquet of quality cuisine that I’ve never experienced before on a flight – the journey was the most pleasant voyage across the skies that I’ve ever relished. Midway through the flight, I told the others that I would be coming back to India again…
I don’t know what made me say this; it was so peculiar. But I just knew I’d be returning. I can pinpoint that this moment was where I FINALLY accepted that God the Father is on my side – this has been a 24-year old wound in my heart from the moment my parents divorced when I was eight. I’d believed in God’s existence for all that time, but felt He was the force that continually hurt me throughout my life; it’s a relief that the Lord has freed me of that deceptive stronghold [1 Corinthians 10:4].
It was also great to see that even though I hadn’t arrived in India, the mission was already having a phenomenal impact.
To be Continued…
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See Part 1 here: https://stephen-l-france.com/i-never-thought-i-part-1/
See Part 2 here: https://stephen-l-france.com/i-never-thought-i-part-2/
See Part 3 here: https://stephen-l-france.com/video-photos-i-never-thought-i-part-3/
See Part 4 here: https://stephen-l-france.com/video-photos-i-n…l-part-lump-clay/
Full Photo Collection Here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100966922753712.1073741831.286103077&type=1&l=410044551f
See more from Feeding Faith here: https://stephen-l-france.com/category/feeding-faith/
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