Most of us have been in situations where God was leading but did not give us
all the answers we needed. Key elements were missing. Perhaps He put a
person in our life whom we found to be more of a challenge than we wanted.
As pastors, He may have sent us to a particular church only where we
encountered more pain than pleasure. Worse still, some may have married the
partner He sent only to find fighting and jealousy awaiting them. Please know
that I am not suggesting God is responsible for sin; nor am I speaking of
situations which resulted from our own foolish decisions. I speak of God’s
having perfect foreknowledge of all things and yet refusing to share certain
facts with us which were vital to our well-being. He may have joined us to a
difficult business partner because He planned to use us in their rescue--and the
effort failed.
Let me illustrate what I mean by God’s giving only part of the information:
Bruce Olson, one of the greatest, most successful missionaries of modern
times, obeyed God implicitly, and as a single, 19 year-old young man went
alone to the jungles of South America. God had called him to take the gospel
to Columbia’s stone-age Motoloni Indians. Bruce’s decision was not a small
one; the Motoloni tribe murdered every stranger who came among them--
including natives from other tribes. Before leaving home Bruce carefully
made arrangements to be met at the airport, to be housed, and be assisted in
his missionary preparations. When he arrived in South America, none of that
happened. No one met him. Nothing was provided. Instead, he soon found
himself as a penniless vagabond on the streets of a strange and dangerous city.
In a short time Bruce was without food and no place to go. Finally, he sought
refuge with men whom he later discovered were gangsters and professional
thieves. Several years passed–then after fording jungle rivers alone, fighting
snakes and poisonous insects, and crossing the towering Andes Mountains on
foot–Bruce finally entered the Motoloni territory. His welcome by the tribe
was their shooting him with an arrow, imprisoning and nearly starving him to
death. In pain and isolated with the most backward people on earth, Bruce had
long hours to reconsider what he had done. He had to deal with the memory of
his parents ridiculing his stupid "call of God," accusing him of being a fool,
and of wasting his youth on religious fanaticism. Now alone and sick, the
question pounded his heart: "Why had not God rescued him or forewarned
him of these troubles before he left home? Why?! Why?!"
Later, after the Motoloni’s had begrudgingly allowed Bruce to live and his
ministry was beginning to take root, he was captured by Communist guerillas,
tied nearly one year to a jungle tree with his hands behind his back. Even
then, Bruce did not relent on his obedience to God. How does Bruce involve
us? While our circumstance may not be as intense as his, we have all been in
crisis situations. That being so, let me ask some important questions: When
God left you without answers and did not come to your rescue, did you panic
or did you trust Him? Did you get angry at God and abandon your faith?
During that painful process, did you realize that God actually had two projects
in mind: The one He told you about--His plan to use you--and the other (an
unannounced one), a plan to change you? God knows that your preparation is
as important as your willingness to go. One without the other is dangerous.
Because of that, God does not call anyone to represent Him and leave them as
they are. Everyone has to be changed. Some of the greatest saints in Scripture
walked alone through the "valley of the shadow of death."
Before going further, let me emphasize this point: God never causes someone
else to sin so He can teach us a lesson. Never! Where sin is active, God is
innocent. As in the case of Bruce Olson who obeyed God and was tragically
abused I have a question: Was all that pain necessary? Under no
circumstances did God make the savages commit sin so He could "get Bruce’s
attention" or make him more humble. But, God is sovereign! Can He do
anything? No!, He emphatically declares that He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Hear
this: The sovereignty of God will never violate the Covenant of God. That
would constitute falsehood on God’s part and cannot happen. What He has
provided in Covenant, He will not trespass with another conflicting Word. He
said, "My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my
lips" (Psalm 89:34). At the same time, when God called Bruce into the jungle
He never promised him safety. Bruce knew all that before he left home.
With that understanding about man’s sin and God’s sovereignty, let’s look at
key Biblical examples of God’s having provided only partial-information to
others: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child
of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not
wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Spirit.’" Matthew 1:18-20.
Question: How long did Joseph have to wait from the time of discovering
Mary’s pregnancy until the angel made the explanation? Was the delay
necessary? What was accomplished in Joseph during that time of tragic
despair? Read on, such delaying-tactics for Joseph are not ended: "Now when
the wise men had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in
a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to
destroy Him’" (Matthew 2:13). Much later, we read, "But when Herod was
dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
saying ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of
Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.’" Matthew
2:19,20.
Joseph returned to Israel with the limited information he had--but, again, the
angel did not tell him the full story. On reaching their homeland, Joseph,
Mary, and Jesus, were stopped abruptly with the discovery that Archelaus,
Herod’s son, now occupied the throne. He was as ruthless as his father. Why
did the angel neglect to tell Joseph all the facts? Why make the man wait to
learn the whole truth from the secular world? (Matthew 2:21,22) Had He so
chosen, the angel’s first appearance could have alleviated months of Joseph’s
pain. Instead, Joseph walked through what we can best call "progressive
revelation." Why was the angel’s message given in two parts? We do not
know!
We find a parallel of this "progressive revelation" soon after the break-up of
Paul and Barnabas’ joint ministry: "Now when they had gone through Phrygia
and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in
Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the
Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and
pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Now after
he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia ..." Acts
16, 6.
There is an identical parallel with Joseph’s traveling in Egypt and Paul’s
traveling in Turkey. With careful study you may see the same pattern in your
own traveling. During an important missionary journey, Paul was forbidden to
preach in Phrgia, Galatia, or anywhere in Asia. No other instruction was given.
He faced a harrowing desert with the voice of God silent. He might have
feared he missed the will of God in coming to Turkey. Perhaps, he thought, he
should have sailed to Crete instead. In the confusion, Paul attempted to visit
Bithynia and Mysia, and again without explanation, God stopped him. For a
period of weeks Paul was left without direction and no response to his prayer.
Finally, when Paul reached Troas and fell into troubled sleep, a vision
appeared in the night and a man in Grecian dress pleaded with him to come to
Macedonia to help them. All the while Paul had been traveling in the right
direction but did not know it. As a consequence of God’s postponement, Paul
went through weeks of confusion and uncertainty. This was a trying time for
the man--as are such times for us. Why such unnecessary pain for those who
are doing the Lord’s work? God remains silent. He did so then and He does
today.
Speaking of one’s having only part of the needed imminently, John the Baptist
was confused about his own identity. He told the Pharisees he was not the
promised Elijah. John 1:21. Jesus said he was. Matthew 11:14. Who was
right? The fact was, John did not know he was the promised prophet, Elijah–
because God never bothered to tell him. Missing information? You will not
find a better example of that mental gap than the man of whom Jesus said,
"Among those born of women there has not risen a greater than John the
Baptist." Matthew 11:11. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get all the answers
you want.
But, why?! Why does God withhold needed information from us? Admittedly,
we do not know, but it seems God has two projects in mind: The first is to
prepare us. Such preparation requires change. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to
say to his Westminster congregation in London, "The most dangerous thing
that can happen to a man is for him to succeed before he is ready." R.T.
Kendall, the pastor who followed Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones at Westminster, has
quoted that to me many times. And I believe it! Joseph, who was Jesus’ step-
father, had the greatest honor and responsibility any human parent has ever
been given. God knew exactly how to prepare him for that assignment. So,
with Paul; changes took place in the desert of Turkey he never understood and
God never bothered to explain. That happened with Bruce Olson in the jungles
of South America. Hopefully, it is happening to you and me.
Before God finished, Bruce Olson’s ministry was imminently successful and
gave the world an example of what the Holy Spirit can do with one obledient
servant who is willing to believe and obey the Lord’s command. Here are
some of Bruce’s original accomplishments with the Motilonis: Though now
out of date, here are some of the early statistics: The Tribe was converted to
Christ, then made peace with their bitterest enemies, and evangelized 18 other
tribes. Today, in Motoloni territority there are more than 28 modern Medical
Stations and 50 Motilone-Bari Health Centers in the jungle that are staffed by
native doctors.
They have established 45 Bilingual Schools, Spanish and Tribal, publish a
newspaper in their own tongue, operate 42 Agricultural Centers, and have
more than 250 Motilone graduate- missionaries actively preaching the gospel
in 22 different Latin American tongues. The Tribe now has a representative in
Columbia’s National State Assembly and another is the Director of the Office
Of Indian Affairs for the National Government in Northeast Columbia. When
Colombian earthquakes left 180,000 homeless, a Motilone Medical Team of
native physicians and nurses gave assistance to more than 5,000 victims.
Bruce, the "fanatical" young man whose parent’s accused him of being a fool,
has been given Honorary Doctorate Degrees and addressed the United
Nations.
In his early days Bruce met a young missionary girl who was as devoted to the
Motilones as was he. They became engaged, planned to devote their lives to
the Tribe. On a return trip to civilization she was killed in an automobile
accident. It was weeks before Bruce learned she was never coming back. She
was the only love of his life and after her death he never married. Did God
know her death was coming? Yes. Did He cause it? No! Why didn’t He tell
Bruce? His silence is the great mercy of His sovereignty—forcing us into a
life of unrelenting prayer and dependence on Him. Without His silence we
would continue in our independent and God-forsaking Ways. Of those crisis,
the poet said it this way:
God's purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste—
But sweet will be the flower!"
Thank God for men like Bruce who are willing to obey God over the
opposition of parents, friends, and in their obedience help change the world. I
met Bruce ('Bruchko' as the Tribe calls him)in Chicago years later at a
Missionary Event during one of his rare returns to civilization. We talked
about his first Motoloni convert, a young man named Bobibarashora who
experienced the Holy Spirit’s radical anointing so powerfully that he was
changed–forever. For days he visited isolated parts of the Tribe, singing his
hours-long testimony of being converted to Christ. It was he, as much as
Bruce, who presented Jesus to the Tribe and converted them. Tragically, he
was killed by invaders wronglyfully entering the private territority of the
Motolonis. Unknown to me at the time of my visit with Bruce, God had other
plans for blessing me through Bobibarashora. I was in a restaurant in West
Florida when a stranger came in and placed a long, reed-like piece of wood in
my hands. "What is this?," I asked. Almost reverently he replied, "This is the
personal spear that belonged to Bobibarshora–I want you to have it ..." I broke
to tears! Thank God for Missionaries!