Kingdom story

I wanted to share a story with you all that I find inspiring. It is unique and somewhat sad, but amazing at the same time. I heard this story this weekend and will relay it to you to the best of my ability.

Daniel Lim is the Executive Vice President of the Forerunner School of Ministry at the IHOP base in Kansas City. He is from Malaysia and has an extensive history which includes pioneering numerous missionary projects in Southeast Asia. Several years ago, after the Tsunami hit, Daniel's wife began fasting and praying for those devastated by the storm. She felt very strongly that the Lord wanted their family to take a team of people, along with many supplies, to the areas. After enormous provision from the Lord, with a full team, and over a million dollars, they were set to leave. Daniel and his wife have two kids and their youngest, a little girl not even 1 year old, had been ill and they had to wait for the doctor's clearance before they could leave. Finally her health improved and the team was off.

When they arrived, they met a great amount of opposition from the government. Their team would go around in T-shirt which read "We love Myanmar." Daniel finally approached the highest authority he had access to and told them to stop the resistance for they were there simply to help. Within days, their team had every resource imaginable at their disposal, including a UN helicopter. Thus, the Lord was showering His favor over them: a Christian group of people their to love on a country that is 89% Buddhists.

One week, Daniel and his wife and son left to travel north to minister in some smaller villages. While they were there, they received a phone call that their young daughter Emma, who had stayed behind with their family in the larger city, was in the hospital with pneumonia. Before they could return, their daughter had died. They buried her on a plot of land they had purchased to build an orphanage on. This had to have been very difficult for them. Some would ask how the Lord could allow such a thing to happen.

Within days, the dictator of Myanmar heard of the death of their daughter, and the sacrifice they had made in traveling with a sick child just to help their country. In an act of appreciation, he declared that a street in every village in the country be named after their daughter. Do you know what her name was, and what it meant? She went by Emma, but her name was Emmanuel (God with us).

So as they left the country, not only had they shared the love of Christ, provided so much aid, brought much relief, and had lost their daughter, but the name of Christ was left in every village in the country.

We may not always understand the Lord's ways and why things happen. However, we must remember that as subjects in His kingdom, He is in control and His kingdom is advancing in ways that we will cost us sacrifice. I know none of us would ever want to be asked of the Lord to lose our children, as Abraham was asked to do, but our Great God is establishing His kingdom on the earth and we must trust in His goodness and faithfulness.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28

May we all have the strength and faith to trust in the Lord and be obedient to all that He asks of us. And may we recommit ourselves to the reality of His kingdom and not be blinded by our limited vision of Christianity.