Sharing the Treasure: Considering Him Faithful

How many of us would simply go as Abraham did? When God called him to leave his home and his people, he wasn’t informed of his destination, the route he’d be taking or how long it would be until he got there. Yet Genesis 12:4 tells us that he went “as the Lord had told him.” He believed the incredible but seemingly impossible promises God had given him and followed into the unknown.

I’m often amazed by this story of faith, held up as a model for believers in Hebrews 11: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Going is difficult, even when we know where we are headed. When the path is unclear or disappears beneath our feet, continuing to follow becomes an even greater challenge.

The example of Abraham’s wife Sarah provides us with the key to walking by faith when the future is unclear: “she considered him faithful who had made the promise” (Hebrews 11:11). We can answer God’s call, in the midst of even the greatest uncertainty, with “yes” when we have confidence in His faithfulness.

Workers Kurt and Emma* answered “yes” even as their plans to minister in South Asia were put on hold indefinitely. As they grappled with disappointment, they committed to serving where the Lord had placed them and prayed for opportunities to reach out to least-reached people while they remained in the U.S. And they, like Sarah, clung to the truth that our Lord is unfailing and trustworthy.

Over and over, they have witnessed God’s promised faithfulness. He has brought people into their lives who are open to the gospel and given them numerous opportunities to share the hope they have in Christ. He’s even given them the joy of seeing one of these new friends begin a relationship with Jesus.

When viewed through the lens of faith, their journey is not one of delays and detours but of obedience that God is using to draw least-reached people to Him. As Kurt and Emma trust in His goodness and sovereignty, He is working through them in ways that wouldn’t be possible if they’d left for the field as they’d originally planned.

Each of us is called to be faithful, not to the roles we envision for ourselves but to the tasks and situations to which God calls us. His purposes for us may differ greatly from the ways we thought we would serve Him; but regardless of whether His calling resembles our projected pathway for ministry, we are responsible to seek to be used by Him in the circumstances He ordains for us. May we trust that the one who calls us is faithful and follow with confidence in Him.

Dr. Steve Coffey, Director of Christar U.S., began work with Christar in 1989. He and his wife, Beth, initially served among North African immigrants in France. In 2001, they returned to the U.S. for Steve to lead the Christar Church Planting Division. In 2005 he became Director of Christar. Before serving with Christar, the Coffeys worked for a year in a humanitarian project in the Red Sea hills of Sudan among the Beja people. Dr. Coffey’s education includes an undergraduate degree in history education from Liberty University, a Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. The Coffeys have three children and four grandchildren.