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Have you heard the expression “Boots on the Ground?” Well our Live Dead Missionaries are the boots on the Silk Road. Here we’d like to take a moment and allow one of them to share a snapshot of their life with you. Some names and details have been changed, but this is a true story from this colorful, vibrant, and sometimes surprising region.

I haven’t been on the field for very long.  Before arriving here, I was often asked, “Aren’t you worried about all that’s happening in that area of the world?” (or some variation of that question).  I would answer such questions, confidently asserting that I wasn’t afraid in the least.  I was excited and anticipatory of this new chapter in my life.  I was confident I would be able to face anything with certainty and absolute peace.

Then I got in country.

I was presented with many challenging, stretching, and new experiences that brought me out of my comfort zone.  I was faced with trying to understand a new culture and learn a new language.  I began sharing my faith in a country where it is unpopular and often looked on negatively to be a follower of Christ.  I was new to an area where bombs and attacks were happening relatively close to me, causing my wife and myself as well as our team, to be on alert and take extra precaution for our security.  Many fear-inducing events happened in a short amount of time.  My previous confidence to take on anything placed in my path began to waver.

There was one particularly fear-inducing time when I was uncomfortably close to a terrorist attack.  Shops were closing, public transportation was shutting down, and big guys with big guns were flooding the streets.  I began asking God for peace.  I wanted to feel okay in my current situation.  I was asking Him for peace just to get me through this time.  While the Lord does say in His Word that He will give us peace, I was asking for His peace to come like medication.  I wanted peace that would get me through this present circumstance and make me feel good until the next difficult situation came to incite fear in me.  In some sense, I wanted to feel numb to fear.  I continued praying even after the heat of that moment had died down.  After praying, I got an unexpected answer from God:

Stop Asking For Peace.

Initially, this answer confused me.  In my mind, it seemed to go against God’s desires for me.  God says in His Word that He will give peace, that in Him we find peace, so am I not justified in asking for it?  Doesn’t He want to give me peace to conquer my fear?  Yes, He does.  However, God also wanted to give me so much more.  Instead of simply administering circumstantial peace like a temporary antidote until the next time I was “wounded” by some sort of unfamiliarity, He wanted to me to have a fuller experience and understanding of the ultimate Cure.

God asked me to trust Him.

I began to realize that peace and trust go hand in hand.  Trust is integral in having peace.  As we know Christ more and lean further into Him and into His plan, we trust Him more.  Although circumstances may be confusing, we can trust in Him who is over our circumstances.

When we trust and have confidence that God is in control, our fears become exponentially small, worries become exceedingly insignificant, and peace floods our minds and hearts.

For me, trusting His plan is often not an easy act.  Many times, His ultimate plans do not make sense to my finite mind.  But that’s the beauty of gaining knowledge of God’s character.

The more I learn to fully internalize the fact that Christ is in absolute control and desires the best for me, the less I feel the need to worry when seemingly unexpected occurrences happen and am instead able to set my focus on Him.

My eyes are on myself less and more on Him.  I am free to love the people I am around and share with this country the Remedy they so desperately need to experience.

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