by Peter Buckland, Blackbox International Trustee
One night when I was 20, I prayed that God would give me a hard ministry—a ministry like the Apostle Paul’s.
“If my ministry is too easy,” I told God, “I’ll be dissatisfied and quit.”
Needless to say, my idealism was running rampant in that prayer. Over time, I forgot about that night. At age 28, my wifeVana and I moved to Cookson Hills Christian Ministries, and by age 32 I was seriously ready to quit. I was out running an errand for the ministry, and as I drove, I composed my resignation letter in my mind. I told the Lord that the ministry was just too hard and impossible to accomplish—that He’d picked the wrong man and I was done. I didn’t even ask Him for guidance. I was just finished.
After telling God my plans to quit, I turned on the radio. Chuck Swindoll was preaching about the Apostle Paul. Here is what he said:
“…and they stoned Paul and left him for dead. He revived and went back into the city.”
At that instant, God brought my prayer from 12 years earlier back to my mind. He had not forgotten. He had given me exactly what I’d asked for. I started to laugh, turned off the radio, and stayed at Cookson until it was time for me to leave six years later.
At times, the work of Blackbox International seems impossible. The numbers are staggering, the challenges are overwhelming and the process is messy. We feel, at times, a little like Paul, and we smile to ourselves, “Welcome to being stoned.” Yet, just as Paul revived and went back into the city, we persevere. We continue the work to which God has called us, because we know…He makes the impossible possible.