Liz's Testimony

If Liz could speak to us today these are some of the things she would say:

I grew up hearing about God and Jesus because my grandfather was a minister.  As a teenager I was confronted with the sinful condition of my heart…  It was at a home bible study group that I finally understood what repentance meant… I asked for God’s forgiveness and received Christ into my life.  That was the beginning of my journey as a child of God, a new creature in Him.

He gives me strength, peace, joy to delight in His Word and His presence, but enough pain and suffering to keep me humble; and dependent on Him to conform me into the kind of person that He wants me to be.  He gives me glimpses of what eternity would be like with Him when I worship Him with the body of believers, and He gives me the desire to share Him with those who do not know Him that they may also have the privilege of giving Him the glory of worship.

I always had a desire to do literacy work and teach the Bible… It wasn’t until years later, when I took the Perspective Course that I became aware of becoming more strategic [in my thinking].  There was never a doubt in my mind that God wanted me to … serve in a culture other than my own. [However] we had to learn such things as character development in humility, servanthood and submission.  Forty years is a long time, and to be honest, there was a time that I despaired and given up on my dream and ambition – which is actually good.  I had to let go of my preconceived ideas of what it is I thought God was calling me to do.  I had to learn to let go of my thoughts and ambitions and seek God’s thoughts and will for my life.  We have placed our lives – present and future – in the hands of God, but at the same time [we] are committed to persevere – to wait on His perfect timing.

John Piper’s book, Let the Nations be Glad, helped me understand that my compassion for the lost is not enough… His book helped me understand that my motivations and desire to go to the field fell short of God’s goal.  God is the only ONE true God and he alone is worthy to be worshipped.  His is jealous for His glory.  I must have a heart that worships God, a heart that is zealous for His glory and mercy and compassion for the peoples who are missing out on the joy and delight of worshipping Him… My goal and desire has to be to give God maximum glory… It is a great privilege that God is giving us to participate in His global plans, [so that] the unreached peoples of the earth would hear the name of Jesus and they would give God His maximum glory.

There are a lot of ambiguities and unknowns as we face the coming year and it is good to meditate on God’s sovereignty… He scrutinizes my paths and my every movement.  He examines my journeying and He is very familiar with all my comings and goings… I can have the confidence that He knows everything that needs to be done and I don’t need to be anxious about any of those so I committed to meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:9-10:  “I will make it my goal to please Him, whether I am at home in the body or away from it.”  In simple terms we can say that God in His sovereignty limits, orders and controls all things for His glory and our good.  God’s desire is for His glory and that is also for my good.  Knowing this gives me peace, hope and confidence that all and everything that happens as it relates to me and my world has been filtered through God’s hands and that He can work it all out for the good.  It also takes the pressure off of me as far as making things happen and trying to control things and events and people in my life.  Knowing that God is sovereign, and I am not, makes me totally dependent on God and to walk closely with Him.  His word tells us that without Him we cannot do anything.  I can have the confidence that God will accomplish His purpose in my life and His overall divine will.  I approach ministry in humility and with gratitude knowing that God does not need me and yet chooses to use me as an instrument in carrying out His purpose in lives of people.  It is indeed a privilege and causes me to be joyful that God wants to accomplish His will in the lives of people through me, and that I am guaranteed of His outworking of His plans in the lives of others, I just need to show up and be obedient.