Small Strength

Proverbs 24:10.

“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” (KJV).

The Crisis:

It was the fall of 1994 in Surrey, BC, and I was 22 years old. I was involved in full-time ministry as the assistant youth pastor at Victory Christian Centre. And I had just gotten engaged to Liza. Everything was going my way. We were going to get married, have lots of children, and serve the Lord together.

And that’s when it happened.

I got called into the pastor’s office and he told me that because of the financial difficulties that the church was having, they were going to have to lay me off. I was still welcome to work with the youth on a volunteer basis if I wanted to, they just didn’t have the money to pay me anymore.

And that’s when I started freaking out. How was I going to get married in less than six months? I couldn’t start a family without a job! And so I made the decision to call off the wedding.

The Challenge:

But thank God for fellow believers in the church, amen? One of my friends shared the above Bible verse with me. He said, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Ouch! That was a Scripture spanking for sure! He was saying that if I was to give up just because of a difficult challenge, then my strength was small.

You see, it’s easy to appear strong and look like you have it all together when everything is going good in your life. But when a crisis comes up, then you find out what’s really in your heart. And so I made a decision to step out in faith, go ahead with the wedding, and trust God to provide for my needs.

Chris and Liza – March 25, 1995

The Conquest:

I’m happy to report that even before two weeks had passed and I was finished at the church, I had another job already lined up working as a prayer minister for an international television ministry. While I was working there, I learned a lot about prayer and had many great experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

I still worked with the youth in our church until the Lord called me to the youth ministry at another church down the road – Bible Fellowship Church. We have four wonderful children, and have been married for over 18 years now. God is good!

What kind of adversity, crisis or challenge are you facing today?

Life is hard, but I want to challenge you to look to the Lord today to help you with whatever you’re going through! “I will lift up my eyes to the hills– From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” (Psalm 121:1-3).