Getting Into Trouble

“Ive just received a death threat”

The ministry leader said to me on the phone, letting me know that he and others in our group had been compromised with the organized crime group in that area. I was supposed to have been on the mission with them. We were supposed to go and check in on the welfare of some girls that had been rescued from organ trafficking earlier. One of the police officers that they spoke to tipped off the crime group and now they all had a target on their backs. Although it was the leader who received the threat, and I wasn’t on that specific trip,  I still had to take precautions. 

“Take a taxi to the middle of the city. Do some shopping for a half hour, then take another taxi here. Do not walk here, do not drive straight here, you could be followed.” 

I hung up the phone and thought long and hard about my family and the mess that we were now in. 

God hadn’t told us before going to Central America why we were going there, and yet here I was, in a foreign land, a wife, three children, and a very small grasp of the language and I was neck deep in this world of child slavery, organ trafficking, sex trafficking, and organized crime.

I shook my head. How do I always wind up in the middle of trouble? We just keep saying yes to God and we find ourselves being sent into the places where trouble is happening, where His will isn’t being done,  and praying, acting, and pursuing His will in the midst of the mess until we see His Kingdom come. 

I am no super star. Im a simple man, with simple, humble beginnings. I am just a guy who has said yes to God, over and over. 

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’ve found yourself in some trouble from saying yes to God.

This is not to be confused by the trouble we get into on our own. We can be foolish, naive, disobedient, and down right sinful, and all of those things can create trouble for us.

The trouble I’m talking about is not so much your “in” trouble, in the sense of your dad comes home to find that you put a scratch on his new corvette, but this is in the sense of you have found yourself in the middle of trouble simply by following God.

So Why does this happen?

Well first I think it is important to remember that we were never promised an easy life. If anything the Bible tells us that there will be trials and troubles for those who believe. Jesus suffered, so we shouldn’t be surprised when suffering happens to us. 

Secondly, I think of the Lords Prayer sheds light for us to better understand our situations.

Why are we told “Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” if we weren’t supposed to pursue Gods will being done in areas where it isn’t? If we say yes to God and following Jesus, and He was always in the middle of trouble, brining the situations on earth into alignment with his fathers will in heaven, shouldn’t we be doing likewise?

Simply put, as the body of Christ, we are one with Him, If the head is doing something the body follows. So if the head is going into the trouble and bringing rightness into wrongness, it would make sense that as His body we will find ourselves in the middle of trouble as well.

Im reminded of Jesus sleeping in the bottom of the boat while the storm rages around Him. I’ve often prayed, Jesus give me the ability to sleep beside you in the middle of this storm. 

It might seem scary that this life brings you into difficult situations, but know that we are following Him. The one who loves us, who called us according to HIS purposes, who can calm any sea, and who can walk upon the waves. WE CAN rest in the boat beside Him even if following Him means we find ourselves in the midst of troubling times. 

But heres the thing. As humans we tend to focus on the stress of the trouble around us. We can complain about it, wear it as a badge to fluff up our ego and pride, or we can drown in it with our fear. But we were not made to look at these waves. We were made to look at HIS FACE. 

Out of all the dangerous situations that I’ve found myself in over the years, the thing that sinks in the deepest is not the fear, or the chaos, although I admit that it is there, but it is the fact that I’ve gotten a front row seat over and over to see God’s Kingdom Come, His will being done, here on earth as it is in heaven. I see light punch through the darkest darkness, Ive seen beauty and life push out and devour the forces of evil, I’ve seen men and women of darkness wake up to their new identities of Children of God. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.

In conclusion stepping into your call and following Him will lead you into trouble, but the glory of watching our Heavenly Father at work, restoring His creation, will always be worth it. 

Be Encouraged,

-Phil Morris-