Untitled - St.Francis Magazine

St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 2 | April 2012 A sound theological education is essential to lasting long in the hard places. It would be great if local churches were good at providing a solid theological foundation for their church members but sadly, from what I see, many are trending away from feeding the meat of the Word and instead offer only fast food snacks. Formal study at a reputable theological institution should, in my opinion, be mandatory for all candidates heading into the hard places. Elijah’s confidence in God’s Word allowed him to stand firm in the face of danger, and God’s Word drove Elijah onward in the face of an uncertain future. We must allow the Word of God to minister to our lives in the same way today if we are going to go well and last long in cross-­‐cultural service for God in the difficult places. 3. Confidence in the Shepherd’s Sovereignty It is one thing to obey the voice of God when you can rationalize the reason for the command, but things are not always that clear cut. I guess that is why it is called a life of faith. Sometimes God asks us to take steps of obedience in a certain direction or towards a certain destination or objective, and so we choose to obey knowing it is the right thing to do, even though others around us might think we are certifiably insane. This was Elijah’s experience also. After breaking the news to King Ahab that a lengthy drought was going to befall the nation, that would deplete their food stocks and cause a wide-­‐spread national famine, Elijah was told by God to move away from the markets and store houses and crop farms, and instead set up camp at a barren ravine miles from anywhere. God perhaps 128