In 1998, I returned to China to live one semester without Daryl in order to finish my PhD research. South China was a dark place. It was nothing like the old Manchuria where I’d lived years before. China was changing rapidly and all the things I’d loved and admired about its people had been replaced with a cold consumerism and lust for money. Deng Xiao Ping had declared to his people, “To get rich is glorious.” It was tough! I was homesick every single day and the heat and humidity were like a thick, sticky blanket suffocating me. Daily I was ready to quit and run back home. I hated it. Every morning it was so hard to just get out of bed and move. Heavy oppression, fear of failure, longing for home, and self-doubt were overwhelming. One morning, early, before 5, my friend Margaret called me all the way from Missouri. The Holy Spirit woke her in the night to pray for me. She phoned to say to me, “You’ve got to praise your way out of that darkness! You’ve got to take authority over the oppression. The Lord has given you the tools to do this.” I was so thankful for that call. Every morning after that, I’d wake up at 5:30. I’d shower, get dressed, and then I’d start praising! I sang. I shouted. I worshiped. I declared God’s goodness and His power over my circumstances. I put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). I read the Word out loud. With every fiber of my being I declared God’s Word above my feelings; I proclaimed God’s faithfulness above my fears; I spoke His Truth over my circumstances – and for three months that was the only way I could get up every morning and face the day. Nothing dramatic happened to me there. No great move of God occurred. I finished my research and by the end of June I headed home. On my last night in southern China, my dear colleague, Mrs. Huang, gave her heart to Christ. The next semester Dr. Cliff and Mary Schimmels went to teach on that campus, and they discipled Mrs. Huang. Cliff, an ordained minister, baptized her. Mrs. Huang became a powerhouse for God. As a result, the entire campus exploded with a move of the Holy Spirit and one Chinese friend told me, “The entire campus is on fire with Jesus.” I almost missed out on God’s perfect plan. I almost missed the blessing. Darkness, oppression, discouragement were zapping my faith, hope, and joy.
Today, I woke up in my home with sadness and discouragement. Things haven’t turned out exactly like I wanted. Dear loved ones have gone on to be with the Lord. Life is different, more different than I ever expected. But this morning the Lord reminded me of that lonely, dark semester in south China. Why should this be any different here in my nation? The Lord is the same. So, today, I will praise! I will shout to the Lord! I will sing of His goodness. “Why, my soul, are you so downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!”(Psalm 43:5). Today, wherever you are in the world, whatever your circumstances, will you join me in praising God? Will you shout to the Lord of His goodness and mercy? God is faithful and He is True! He is trustworthy and He is able! I WILL sing to the Lord. I WILL proclaim His goodness. I WILL NOT be moved by what I see or what I feel, but I will stand on God’s Word where every promise is YES and AMEN! His mercies are new every morning. Peace.
Amen! This encourages my heart. My word for 2021 is REJOICE, and as each day comes I’m seeing the Lord tenderly teach me to REJOICE regardless of my feelings or my circumstances. He is good and merciful, and for that I REJOICE.