I write to you as one who understands the journey, from inside the dust, sweat, silence, and unseen labour of the field. I want to tell you about CONSISTENCY.
Consistency is one of the hardest demands of the missionary life, not because you don’t love God or because you are lazy, but because the work often looks the same every day. You are ministering to the same people, you are answering the same questions, you face the same resistance and it just seems like ou are not making progress. There are even times you have same disappointments despite working not to have them.
There are days you will wake up being fired up, convinced again that God sent you while there are days you wake up tired, wondering if anyone is really changing at all. It is in between these two days that consistency is tested.
Missions is not sustained by excitement but by conviction.
Because many people don’t know this, they start very well with a lot of excitement and energy but along the line, only few remain and this is not because God left them, but because the mission routine began to feel heavy on them; their prayer life began to feel dry; evangelism began to feel more mechanical than spiritual and spontaneous, and slowly, their hearts began to ask dangerous questions like:
“Is this thing still working?”
“Shouldn’t I be seeing more results by now?”
Beloved, I want you to know that consistency is your loudest sermon.
The people you are sent to may not remember your longest message, but they will always remember that you kept coming, they will remember that you did not disappear when there was no offering, when the attendance dropped, and when appreciation was scarce. They will remember that you were still there with them.
There is a grace that only meets people who show up again and again.
I know a missionary who laboured in a village for so many years. Every Sunday, he would set up the same benches. Every week, he would teach the same basic truths of Christianiaty such as repentance, prayer, and holiness but for a long time, it looked like nothing was happening. The people would came late to Church, some would come in heavily drunk and some slept off. This caused many villagers and even friends in the cities to mock him.
But one day, sickness broke out in that village and the same people who mocked him came knocking on his door that very night and asked: “Pastor, please pray for us.”
Why was this possible? Because they trusted only the man who stayed back and refused to flee.
My dear fellow missionary, I want you to be aware that consistency will always build credibility.
Know that heaven counts differently from men.
God does not only reward big moments, He also rewards faithful patterns.
He is watching you during those days you are preaching to just 2 people with the same seriousness as the day you preach to 20. He sees the prayer you pray when no one joins you. He is recording the tears you wipe away quietly.
Don’t stop because it feels slow; don’t reduce your labour because nobody is clapping for you and don’t adjust your obedience to match your emotions.
Keep teaching.
Keep praying.
Keep loving.
Keep showing up.
Remain where He has placed you. Stay with the assignment. Be consistent and I assure you that ONE DAY, the fruit will speak and it will speak loudly. Grace to you!
Your Brother,
Peter Jerry
Your Fellow Labourer
