Whatever!

In “The Land of the Unexpected” – an informal title often used here for PNG – we tend to develop a preparedness for any outcome. This past week, Elspeth arrived for another day in the Basic Exegesis course and was advised by a PNG course participant that they would organise the morning worship time, “… and you can give a devotion.” Thankfully, Elspeth had prepared a talk some time previously, and was able to share this with the students.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. Philippians 1:27-30

Many of Paul’s letters express a similar concept, which the current generation might define by the expression, “Whatever!”, though unlike the complete emotional disregard involved in this expression, Paul is rather acknowledging that all things are in God’s hands – his personal ministry to the Phillipians, the opposition to the church, their struggles and suffering, and the spread of the gospel.

He calls us simply to be prepared to live lives “worthy of the gospel of Christ”, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We are to be firm in our stance, ready to leap into action in the strength and leading of the Spirit.

In Ephesians Paul tells us that all our good works are “prepared in advance for us to do”. (Ephesians 2:10) Often we are completely unaware of how God is drawing events together for our service of Him. At the beginning of January we determined a date for our work here to conclude before returning to Australia. This involved identifying a suitable arrival day between Easter and the Anzac Day public holidays. Then working backwards from our departure from Ukarumpa, we settled on April 9 as being our last official work day based on the permitted 10 days of special leave to pack up our home and be ready to leave.

Only later in January was Elspeth advised of the upcoming course dates and her involvement – firstly February 12 to March 5, then the second course running March 19 through to…. (you guessed it) April 9. God is good!

Prayer points
 Praise God that His sovereign purposes are always for our good and His glory.
 Pray that we continue to trust Him for each small detail of our departure from PNG, our time visiting our partner churches and individual supporters, and eventual resettling at Kangaroo Ground.