I was contacted by a Peruvian brother that is currently studying in California. He has a great love and burden in his heart for his family in the city of Piura. We made contact with the family and my wife and I went to visit them. We were grateful for the way his mother received us kindly and for her interest in hearing the word of God, but even more so because she had invited other women to come and hear the gospel. This reminded me of the Samaritan woman and her desire that others in the city come and listen to Jesus. That day I shared Romans 3:9-28 on sin, justification in Christ, and the grace that is found in Him.
I am excited to continue visiting other homes here in Piura. God has given me many contacts and I want to take advantage of the means that He gives me to bring Him glory in this beautiful city. In the midst of all that is going on, I can see several things that are being sovereignly directed by our good God. God is good!
“God is good!” This is a phrase that I commonly use, but I don’t just use it when everything seems to be going well. The statement is just as true when things seem to not be going well. This is the case with two members in our church. One is a sister that had to have an emergency operation. Three days later, a brother in our church also had emergency surgery. Sadly, in the process of his surgery, they also discovered that he has a tumor. The sister is recovering well, but the brother seems to be getting worse and is in a lot of pain following the surgery. Things do not look good for him, but God is good. He is with us in these storms of life, and His fatherly love and care sustain us. His sovereignty is our resting place.
In the current trial, I have spoken a lot with this brother and with his family. As a church, we have gone to visit him in the clinic and now in his house. We pray often for him. He’s 49 years old and has a young family. I remember listening to Josiah Grauman who said: “Many of the afflictions that we do not understand here we will understand when we are with the Lord, and we will be able to say, ‘Thank you, Lord. This was the best thing that could have happened.’” I trust that this is true. I want my brother to be healed. He is a sheep of the Lord and I love him. God has allowed me to be his pastor here for some time. Still, above all, I pray that God would do His will, which is good and acceptable and perfect.
