A lot of reasons to say ‘no’

You can always find reasons to say “no.”

Moipi certainly had some big ones.

The Dao woman was getting ready to move to a distant village with her husband in order to present God’s Word there.

“I know that my kids could get sick and die,” Moipi said, since she and her family would be far from the medical care provided by missionaries in her village.

“Or my family might not have enough food,” because her husband, Wikipai, would be concentrating on teaching instead of hunting and gardening.

“And I am not looking forward to living in a village that is so far from my own home,” she said. Tribal people are not as mobile as people such as you and I, and leaving family and friends is a big deal.

But Moipi wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“God’s message is a big message,” she said, “and I know that the people need to hear as well and so I will go. God’s message is worth it!”

But that’s not the end of Moipi’s story.

Within a few weeks of going to the distant village, her husband became seriously ill. He was doing so poorly that missionaries almost cried when they arrived and saw him. And he didn’t sound like he expected to recover.

“If my body dies here in this place, I know that my spirit will continue to live and will go up to be with the Creator. I do not fear death,” he said.

But with help, and by the grace of God, Wikipai recovered.

And what would you expect from Moipi after something so close to her fears came to pass? Would you expect her to be upset with God? A lot of people would be.

Well, here’s what she said:

“Everybody look! I was already looking for places to bury my husband. I already had a place picked out! But it is as if he has been raised from the dead right in front of my eyes! Look at him now. The Creator has caused him to live!”

Is fear keeping you from saying “yes” to God? Maybe your fears are real, and maybe they’re big, like Moipi’s. But you can find blessing and joy in discovering that God is so much bigger.