My Journey With Cancer, Part 47, A Change in the Wind
There are several passages of Scripture that God has used to direct us in times of transition – when He changes our assignment to match where He wants us to be and how He wants us to serve at a particular time in our life. Henry Blackaby puts it this way – “You cannot stay where you are and go on with God.” I call it living with an open hand where the Father can put in or take out whatever He wants so that His will might be accomplished and we would be available to be used as He wants to use us at a particular time and place. This has become one of those times.
The first passage is by far my favorite for it contains such a marvelous promise. It is Isaiah 43:18-19 which says:
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.”
It is so exciting to serve a God who promises in Revelation that, “Behold I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). He does not leave things as they are or accept a continuing decline into darkness, but rather is always reaching out to redeem and remake – to seek and save the sinner – and for those willing to obey and walk by faith there are invitations to join Him and be used of Him. Those invitations are available to any Believer, but we often are so hard of head and set in our ways that we miss the opportunities or don’t proceed because of fear or emotions – not wanting to change circumstances where we have grown comfortable.
Scripture teaches us that God will do whatever it takes to move His people in times like that. For me the clearest New Testament portrayal is when the church began to grow and prosper even in the face of opposition from the Jewish religious leadership. The church was exploding where it was. Scripture tells us that “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem” (Acts 6:7). They had done what God had called them to do there, but Jerusalem was not the world and the Gospel would not go to the world if the people of God did not carry it to the world. So God allowed a great persecution to arise against the church which scattered the church throughout the regions of Judea and Samara and “those that were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1-4). A new thing that seemed bad was in fact what it took to cause the church to do what God had commanded – to be “My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
As the Gospel began to spread and God called more of His people to go further in faith with Him again there were times when God brought new things in new ways to accomplish His purposes. Paul and Barnabas were sent out on the first missionary journey which God used in amazing ways, but when the time came to go out again something unexpected happened which some might view as a tragedy, but which God intended for a totally different purpose. Scripture describes a separation which God used mightily to advance the Kingdom as follows:
“After some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’ Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:36-40).
This separation was the result of a different ministry passion which God put on their hearts. Paul’s focus was on everyone hearing the Gospel and he was unwilling to allow one who had failed another chance. Barnabas, the encourager, was a disciple maker who knew that Mark could be a great man of God if someone would walk him through his failure and into maturity in Christ. We have Paul’s story because Dr. Luke traveled with him and wrote for us the book of Acts and we have his letters. We also, however have Barnabas’ story in the fruit of his discipleship as Mark did grow and mature in the Lord such that he became the author God used to write the Gospel of Mark – and he is the one Peter called “Mark my son” (1 Peter 5:13) – and even Paul when he wrote his final letter said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:6). God’s new way ultimately brought things around where together – though ministering separately the Kingdom was advanced – and so it is true today. Henry Blackaby says it this way, “The key to cooperation between Christians is not whether they are ‘like us’ but whether they are doing Kingdom work.”
So what is our “new thing”? God is still revealing that and how He will enable us to serve Him with the cancer still present. Some things are obvious – we made the decision to switch one of the cancer drugs to deal with side effects and will see how that changes our ability to be active in ministry. God has opened the opportunity to pray about a spiritual training center in Sedona and has involved us with Pastors in other parts of the country where God is moving in revival. We remain committed to Time to Revive and look for how we can be used in that ministry. Here He has released us to seek a different local church which has as its ministry focus that all the people be trained and sent out to share the Gospel and make disciples anytime wherever they may be. However like the Paul and Barnabas split, leaving our former church is not an “attack” on that church or a criticism – it is just that God has given us a different ministry passion which we must follow with the knowledge that even as He used Paul and Barnabas’ separate ministries they ultimately came together for the glory of God.
We would appreciate your prayers as God opens doors and we seek to be obedient looking for the promised “Rivers in the desert” which will result from God’s new thing.
About David Maddox – After a legal career in both Texas and Arizona that spanned over 40 years as a civil litigator, God called David to leave his law practice and work full time as Discipleship Director for Time to Revive. That call is really the fruit of decades of prayer for revival and teaching God’s Word, writing discipleship materials and seeking to make disciples. David married Janet Whitehead in 1976 and they minister together from their Phoenix home. God has blessed them with four children and thus far seven grandchildren.