Lessons Learned on the Long Path

My journey to Russia began when I was 16 years old. I am now a 49-year-old man. It has been a long path for me.

There have been moments when it looked like everything was going to fall apart.  There were times it looked like the ripe fruit would rot on the tree.

And there are moments like yesterday, where I see the hand of God so evident in all His dealings and I know I am walking with Him as He shapes the future. Yesterday I wrapped up my most recent trip to Russia.

I have travelled to Russia more times than I can count. My Russian friends tell me Russia has become my second Motherland.

Little did I know when I started this journey I would get to be a participant in what few people get to do: I helped pioneer a national Foursquare Church.

During all these years of laboring in Russia, facing numerous obstacles and overwhelming challenges, I have had one over-arching ministry mandate: Stay faithful to the call, because the mighty oak tree began as a single nut that held its ground.

“The mighty oak tree began as a single nut that held its ground.”

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My goal has been to see the church in Russia grow to become a mighty oak tree, planted by the Lord. To grow a mighty oak tree takes a very long time.

It is the long, slow, consistent obedience lived out in the boring parts of life that create strength, beauty, and magnificence. Be faithful in the little things. Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Here are some lessons I have learned on the Long Path:

1. Encountering God leaves a mark.

When you encounter God you are transformed. Like Jacob, you walk with a limp. The encounter leaves its mark.

This mark may sometimes be crowded out, silent in the shadows, but it is there. You sense it in the distant corners of your inner world.

Sometimes it is like those movements we see from the corner of our eye: Something flutters by. We turn quickly to see it. There is nothing there.

Though not seeing it we still perceive it is there. It beckons us. It calls us. It consoles us. It challenges us. It burns in us. Silent, yet it still speaks.

Covered by life’s clutter, the Divine stain remains. We know it is there. It holds its ground, lodged in us, holding us, whispering to us in silent times. The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

2. When opportunity comes it is too late to prepare.

My preparation came in part through years of what I thought were a barren ministry. I gave years of faithful labor only to see very little fruit. It tormented me.

Little did I know that what looked to me like barrenness looked to God like preparation.

Barrenness led to brokenness. Brokenness led to desperation. In my desperation God stripped away selfish ambition, the fear of man, and the trappings of success.

I entered my season of barrenness with dreams of greatness and achievement; I left my barrenness loving His presence, His Word, and His purpose.

I only wish I could have understood then what I understand now. I would have embraced it a lot better than I did.

David learned to kill giants, lead men, and be king by shepherding his father’s sheep and singing songs of worship.

Embrace preparation because God is at work in you.

3. When you do not know what to do, do what you know to do.

I have been asked numerous times, “Do you think the doors to Russia will be closed again?” Some ask this because of current events, others because they have heard prophetic words. I always tell them the same thing, “I do not know what the future holds; all I know if that we must work while it is day.”

When you do not know what to do next, do what you know to do right now.

Its like Gandalf told Frodo,

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

4. God is working in ways you cannot see.

It is easy to forget that our journey is wrapped up inextricably from the journey of others. Sometimes we want to do something but the other people who are to be part of the journey are not ready yet, so we must wait.

We can rest in God’s timing. We can trust He is orchestrating people and events according to His own purpose. Like Jacob, we wake up one day and say, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not even know it.”

5. Embrace the journey with joy and anticipation.

It is so easy to embrace the destination. It motivates us. It calls us forward. It gathers like-minded people together.

But here is an unsettling thought I have been having lately: The journey is the destiny. The destination is the catalyst for the journey.

It may sound Zen-like, but it is really Kingdom-like: The goal of the destination is the journey. The goal of the journey is the destination. Embrace both.

My journey to Russia has involved hundreds of people, each on their own journey as well. My life has been made richer and deeper because of you. Thank you for being on this journey with me, and thank you for letting me be part of your journey.

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