Ever-Increasing Light

A Messianic Daily Devotional

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

In 1996 my husband, daughter, and I traveled across the ocean to Myaki, Ukraine, a small fishing village just outside of Odessa. We stayed there for almost a full year, pioneering the first Messianic Jewish Bible Institute’s two-year Bible school for young Messianic Jewish believers. I recall it now as the sweetest and most trying year of my life.

It was full of contraditions–the stark difference between the warm fuzzies I felt at the church altar when I responded wholeheartedly to an emotional call to the mission field and the cold reality of living it in a foreign place. Learning a new language and understanding a strange culture against the backdrop of one of Ukraine’s worst winters on record proved to be more than we had bargained for!  I felt extreme highs and lows, trying to stay true to what God had called us to do through a torrent of emotions.

I quit every day, but God didn’t quit on me. I continued to pray and ask for grace, and somehow we managed through that year. God helped us as I walked through the motions, feeling almost numb with culture shock. It has been 20 years now with great growth and expansion to other nations and schools. My husband and I have handed the baton of leadership to another couple recently, for which we rejoice. God did exceedingly abundantly above what we asked or dreamed in those humble years of service.

For more study…

Romans 12:12, Colossians 1:11-12, Galatians 3:9, Revelation 3:10

Work it out in daily life…

Think about the problems in your life that bring great contradiction and difficult passage. Talk to God in prayer about these earnestly. Find a trusted friend with whom to pray and help you press on through the difficulties and trials of faith. Meditate on the key scripture for today. Take it as your own. NO matter how trying — God is able to accomplish something from your life that is better than you can imagine.

©Bonnie Saul Wilks