The Most Undesired Ministry Success Ever

Soon after thinking about a summary of Noah's ministry, I recalled a sermon my husband preached at a supporting church on the book of Jonah. We had fun contrasting the two "ministries."

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Noah

Mission field: the very wicked people of the world
Message: total destruction
Converts: only his family (eight people)
Reaction: a sacrifice of thanks

Jonah

Mission field: the very wicked people of the capital city of Israel's enemies
Message: total destruction
Converts: everyone, from the greatest to the least
Reaction: anger, wishes to die

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What fantastic irony! Can you think of two more polar opposites in Scripture? Noah preaches and prepares an ark for salvation but sees no fruit from his efforts outside of his family. But he praises the Lord for their salvation, this little fruit that came from his long ministry.

Jonah, on the other hand, doesn't want to see the salvation of the Ninevites, even though he himself has been so miraculously saved from a watery death. His sermon is as short and perfunctory as can be (eight words in English), and yet he has incredible success in a mass revival that involves even the beasts fasting and wearing sackcloth!

Jonah by George Frederick Watts

His angry reaction is even more incredible. I mean--what missionary doesn't long to see a revival like that? We can't even tell if he made it the three days the Bible says it took to cross the city before repentance falls on the people. But he is angry at God's great mercy, at His goodness. His emotions are extreme: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry."

He spits out his prayer, which with your permission, could be summarized in modern speech, "I knew you'd be like that! You know... GOOD. I'd rather die than see this!"

We can learn so much from the book of Jonah. But for now, what can we learn from a comparison of Noah's and Jonah's ministries? I think we can be encouraged by the answer to a natural question that might come up when comparing the two ministries.

Why was Jonah's ministry so successful, though so vehemently undesired, when Noah's ministry was dry as a desert? (That is, ahem, until the waters covered the earth.)

There is only one answer. I'll use Jonah's words:

SALVATION is OF THE LORD.

That is the only explanation for such vast differences between the two ministry results, especially when we consider that Jonah actually worked and prayed against the salvation of the Ninevites!

Look at all the actions the Lord does in the book of Jonah:

• He calls Jonah. "The word of the Lord came unto Jonah..., saying, 'Arise, go.'"
• ...the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea...
• ...the Lord...which hath made the sea and the dry land...
• ...the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
• [according to Jonah] "He heard me...thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep....Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
• And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
• And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go...and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."
• And God saw their works...
• And God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not.
• He gently questions Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry?"
• ...the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief.
• But God prepared a worm...
• ...God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun...

After being attacked by criminals, a few pastors asked if I was struggling to believe in God's goodness. Honestly, at the beginning, I wasn't struggling very much on that point. I knew God was good, if for no other reason than that He saved our lives!

Actually I admitted that where I struggled to believe in God's goodness and love towards us was in the extreme difficulty and scant results of our evangelism efforts. I am sure many missionaries can relate to struggling with a feeling of bitterness towards our Lord. "I gave up all ___ for You, and where are You? Why aren't You blessing our ministry? Where's the fruit?"

This is actually nothing but a feeling of entitlement that God owes us certain glories for what we've sacrificed for Him, an expectation of a certain minimum of results. But hasn't it been said so many times in the Bible, that God is the One responsible for our ministry successes?

• "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
• "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."
• Even the pagan sailors whom Jonah sailed with admitted, "...thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee."

It is initially discouragingly humbling for us to realize that it is not our charisma or plans or goodwill or activities that effect revival. It is the wind of God blowing where it will.

But there is one thing that we can do, that we must do, in order to see God's hand at work. We must go. And we must preach.

Why God, with all of His amazing power and mercy, has chosen to use such a weak tool as the foolishness of preaching, is a mystery to me. But He told us to go, and He said that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and He said that they cannot believe unless they hear, and they cannot hear without a preacher. So...

...don't be discouraged by the truth that God is ultimately responsible for the salvation of souls on your field. Let that truth encourage you. He said He would do it. It may not be as immediate as it was with Jonah; in fact, it could take a long time, but He will go with you, and He will build His church.

And what should be our only response?

Definitely not anger:
"Why are You doing it this way?"

But gratitude and humility. Embrace humility:
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?"

And gratitude:
"You saved me and included me in Your plan of salvation for the Tsonga people? Thank You, Lord. You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You."

Salvation is of the LORD.

Belonging

We came to Spain in 1984 with a ten-month-old baby in our arms. We hadn’t made a survey trip. We knew no Spanish—not one word—and no one besides our co-workers and the Spanish pastor’s family. When we arrived in the Madrid airport in the early morning, we had lost almost two nights of sleep. Our co-workers met us in a very strange looking, Siata van, something like a squarish tin can on wheels. We piled in along with their family, and one of the first things the lady said was, “Husband, we need to find a bar.”

I was suffering from jet lag and from wrestling with a very active baby the whole trip. And this wonderful Christian lady was looking for a bar? (I had never set foot in a bar in my life!)

Several miles down the road, we pulled into a spacious parking lot outside a lovely cafeteria where we got breakfast rolls and coffee—or in my husband’s case, hot chocolate. Lesson Number One: a bar in Spain is not the same thing as a bar in America.

Lessons Number Two and Three soon followed. Two: there are different kinds of bars—those for men, and those for families with children. Always look before entering. Three: bars always have public restrooms. It’s a very helpful thing to know.

I would say that our whole first term—five years—we felt like strangers in a strange land. We got to be fairly fluent in Spanish, but people still stared at us like we came from another planet. (I was clueless about dressing to blend in, and there weren’t many non-Spanish/Basque people living in the Basque region in those days. Plus, those were the Reagan years, and the sentiment was very anti-American.)

After our first furlough, when we returned to Spain, we felt oddly “at home.” Oh yes, there were still some big challenges and many learning experiences, but we knew that God had called and we were where He wanted us to be.

Fast-forward sixteen years from our arrival. Our daughter called home from college in the States. “Mama and Daddy,” she began, “should I say the Pledge of Allegiance?” Our eyes were opened to the reality of third culture kids. Our daughter wanted to know if it was honest to pledge allegiance to a country she had never lived in. Oh yes, she was a U.S. citizen from birth, but . . . .

Are there days when you feel like you don’t belong? (After twenty-nine years in Spain, we still have them.) Do you wake up sometimes, look out the window, and want to turn over and pull the covers over your head? Do you long for the things you had back in the States? Do you miss ________________? (doughnuts, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, creature comforts, people looking up to you as a missionary; you fill in the blank.) Do your kids struggle with being in between? Or do they already feel so much a part of their adopted country that they think America is the foreign country?

Belonging . . .

Let me share some important concepts and Scriptures with you.

• To the new missionary: hang in there. Eventually, this crazy foreign place will feel like home. It is very important to go back for that second term. Give yourself time to learn and adapt. It won’t happen in one or two years. Be patient. Moses said, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). Home is where God is.
• To the single missionary: We admire you. 1 Corinthians 7:34 tells us how important single women are to God’s work: The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. Serve the Lord and keep yourself pure. Make friends of everyone—male, female, all ages, and complete families. You will find your “family” in the people to whom you minister.
• To the mother of little ones, who would like to be more involved in the ministry, but you’re barely keeping your head above water: there are seasons in every life. Your ministry now is to your family and what you can do in the church. Ask your husband what he would like you to do. (You’ll probably be surprised by his answer.) Follow his leadership. She that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband (1 Corinthians 7:34b). Be sweet. Depend on God’s strength daily, and make sure you have a regular quiet time. Your impact is greater than you think.
• To the homeschooling missionary: your children are an important part of your ministry—the most important part, excepting your husband. When you homeschool, you are not only imparting knowledge and school subjects; you are also pouring your values into your children. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 is a good outline for homeschooling. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. First, you love the Lord with all your being, and then you share the Word of God with your children—all day long and in every life context.
• To the tired missionary: Jesus said, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Lean on the Lord. Leave your burden. Find soul rest in the Lord. 

You do belong.

You belong—right where you are, right in this moment. God has led you, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You belong to Him. (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 14:8)

God bless you, dear sister.