Light Momentary Troubles

How uncomfortable am I willing to get to be part of Jesus’ mission? That question swirled in my mind as we flew through high winds and heavy rain last Tuesday morning on our way to Haiti. Our MFI pilots, Rod and Phil, did their best to dodge the lightning, but the DC-3 plunged and rose, tossed and turned like a roller-coaster. Most of the dozen or so passengers were airsick, including me. It’s a terrible feeling –  burning in the stomach, nausea, sweats. I grabbed the gag bag and fluffed it out just in case.

The two hour drive to Limbé from the Cap-Haitien airport felt like the flight. We tossed and turn, rose and fell with the craters in the road. “At least we can’t fall from the sky,” I thought, still fighting back the nausea. We made steady progress until we started up the mountain between us and Limbé. The van stalled and refused to start again. Our driver rolled backward, popped the clutch, and the van reluctantly began to run. But it refused to go into first gear despite the driver’s repeated attempts.

We all got out and stood on the side of the road. What now? Our driver inquired about a local mechanic with two young guys near us. He then set off down the hill. We bought some drinks at a roadside stand near us and moved into the shade. Fifteen minutes later our driver trudged toward us. He tried to start the van again. No luck. Clearly we needed a “B plan,” as Haitians say.

Isaiah and I flagged down a passing SUV, told him our dilemma and asked if he would take us over the mountain to Limbé or knew someone who could. “Pa gen pwoblem,” he replied. “Not a problem.” Thank you, Lord! We off-loaded our Bibles and training supplies from the ailing van and crammed them into the SUV, each holding a box, backpack or bag on our laps. Off we go – until we didn’t. We labored halfway up the steep grade and the SUV quit. Not again!

How uncomfortable am I willing to get to be part of Jesus’ mission? The question returned. I thought of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” What Paul calls light-weight problems would level most of us. A few verses earlier, he says he is “hard-pressed . . . perplexed . . . persecuted and struck down.” Later in this letter, he tells us:

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. (2 Corinthians 11:23-25)

Light and momentary troubles? Are you kidding me, Paul?! But he’s not done:

I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from the Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers . . . (2 Corinthians 11:26)

How could Paul call these high pressure even life-threatening situations “light and momentary troubles”? He doesn’t believe for a moment that he’s paying for his sins through hardships, nor is he bragging about his latest episode of suffering for Jesus. He only shares these hardships to combat the super-spirituality of false teachers unwilling to get uncomfortable for the mission of Christ. The Apostle Paul calls these serious troubles “light and momentary” in comparison to the eternal weight of glory achieved by them.

Most Haitians endure more difficulty in one month than we face in 10 years. Why shouldn’t we put up with some discomfort to help them?

The apostle doesn’t go looking for trouble, but if troubles comes as he lives every day for the mission of Jesus, so be it. God uses troubles to distinguish real-deal Christ-followers from people who claim to be spiritual but refuse to move from their comfort zones. And I’ve seen again and again in Haiti that God uses troubles to demonstrate to those we’re trying to reach that we really care and are willing to be uncomfortable to encourage them in Christ.

Perhaps we need to restate the question. Instead of “How uncomfortable am I willing to get to be part of Jesus’ mission,” we should ask, Am I willing to put up with temporary problems to take part in the Cause that impacts people’s lives for eternity? By God’s grace, I want to be willing to make that trade every day, don’t you?

Our second driver wouldn’t be denied. He spun the SUV around, started it again, and backed the rest of the way up the mountain!  At first, our team sat stunned then we laughed. Okay, let’s do this! Once we reached the top, our young driver spun the SUV around again to face forward. In another 20 minutes, we rolled into Limbé. We led Course 3 there this week with 82 church leaders – with eternity in view.