Prayer Request

Hello again friends!

I want to tell you about a friend of mine and fellow co-labourer with CCI in India. His name is Paul. Many of you have heard Ter and I share at length about Pastor Paul dedication and commitment to ministry and certainly the work of CCI in India. At first this news frustrated me then as God soften my heart I began to see that it wasn't so clear who needed the prayer more Pastor Paul or us.

The news is that Pastor Paul has been experiencing some difficulty with high blood pressure. His systolic pressure was edging 240 (that's about twice what it should be which is really quite serious). Antony insisted that he take some time off and relax. Pastor Paul assured him the sure way to kill him was to make him sit on the sidelines. If he took time off he said his blood pressure would go even higher.

When I first heard these things I was a little aggravated at how stubborn some people could be. Then I really began to think about it. These guys really meant it when they told God that they wanted to give their whole lives to Him. This is who they are. It seems when you ask someone to stop being who they (ministers of the Gospel) are you really are doing something worse than killing them - you take away the meaning to life. I realize most people will disagree with me and I probably would too if hadn't met someone like Pastor Paul. I see what guys like these accomplish in one week and it's a lot more then people like me do in a lifetime. Is that what God does with people who are willing to really surrender their lives? So is what he is doing really that foolish? It certainly would be if his life was his own but what if he is already "dead" in his own mind.

So that's where the great dilemma of the prayer request lies. I want Pastor Paul to be happy and healthy but I know the happy part comes more from being who God called him to be and I don't know what to think about the healthy part. That always seems to be in God's hands doesn't it either way doesn't it. I know a lot of people who "take better care of themselves" that have more health issues than a guy like Pastor Paul.

I must say I admire Pastor Paul. I think of the legacy he'll leave someday (and I think God's got a few more tasks for him yet) and I must admit I'd rather have a story like this... coming to the end going full speed, doing something that means something, totally spent and exhausted but still struggling to do more. The last place I want to go is while I'm asleep (isn't that what most North Americans really wnat) or in a hospital bed.

Lord, make me more committed like Pastor Paul. Let my life mean something just like his does. Let me live in a way that those who stand on the side line call me a fool for running at the pace I do and the people who run with me turn to you looking for the strength to run like Pastor Paul does. I ask You to have Your hand on Paul for the sake of his family, friends and church but take his life and use it for the sake of Your kingdom. Amen.