Constancy in God’s Work
”Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
Dan. 6: 16
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear friends! Greetings to you with the words of our beloved Lord: “Peace be unto you!”
The pagan king gave such high praise to Daniel’s faith and ministry! And the king’s assessment contained a very important qualifier: the word “continually”! This is impressive because man, in his fallen state, is a very unstable being. Today, he thinks one way; tomorrow, in a different way. Today, he is inspired by one idea; tomorrow, he has lost interest in it. Today, he is resolutely going one way; tomorrow, he is already moving in a different direction, and his mood changes like the spring weather.
One of the great themes in the Bible is about man’s trust in God. However, some verses also point to God’s confidence in some people. The Lord was confident in the people to whom He sent His disciples to fetch the donkey: “And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither” (Mark 11: 3).
Christ had confidence in the owner of the room in Jerusalem: “And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us” (Mark 14: 15). We can point out more examples like these. Such people, unlike the majority around them, had a rare quality: constancy in serving the Lord. This golden quality penetrated so deeply into their hearts that it became a part of their character, such that these people became like rocks in the sea, like mountains on land: nothing could shake them. They were loyal, like the best soldiers on duty. Their constancy in serving God was so sure that the Lord refers to them in His prophecy: “…behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).
Dear friends, let us examine ourselves with the following question: Can God count on me? In His plans to save people, can God count on me as His faithful assistant? What is the best way to describe my service to the Lord? Is it more like a rock or like a broken stick, on which one cannot rely? Constancy and consistency are essential qualities of a believer without which no involvement in God’s work is possible.
This time of year across the former Soviet Union, where the missionaries serve the Lord, is ideal for conducting many evangelistic outreaches and trips. In the coming weeks, the evangelists in Northwestern Russia will go on missionary trips on small boats along the northern rivers of the Komi Republic and the Vologda Oblast. Then, another missionary trip will take place in the mountainous region on Tofalaria that will include a Christian summer camp for the children. The ministry continues in the villages located along the Siberian rivers. The Lord is causing more people to come to faith in the Ural tundra.
In a word, the Lord’s promise is being fulfilled before our eyes: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come ” (Matthew 24: 14). Dear friends, I wish you to be consistent in doing good deeds and to pursue glory, honor and immortality — eternal life (Romans 2: 7).
With love in Christ,
Rev. Vladimir A. Okhotin,
REM’s Founder and President
2019-3-en
