Finish

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

After the cyclone hit Mozambique, I stayed faithful to the schedule God had planned for me. I stayed on the boat as God said. I left the boat when God told me to go preach at Oxford University. Then I was due to speak at a historic meeting at a cathedral in France. Meanwhile, back in Mozambique, close to one of our main bases, twenty tons of ammunition started to explode, triggered by the intense African heat. Two missiles hit the center—at the altar of the church and the admin block.

I was terrified. “Please change my ticket,” I begged the travel agent. “I have to go home!”

But God said, “Finish your assignment.”

“Come on, Lord! You cannot mean me to go to a cathedral while bombs are going off and our children are terrified?”

“Finish your assignment.” So I did.

Not one person at the children’s center was hurt. The Lord sheltered them under His wing. None of our missionaries fled for their own safety; they all stayed to protect the children. Meanwhile, I preached at the cathedral, and the Holy Spirit met starving monks and nuns with His compassion, encouragement, mercy, healing, and joy.

When we finally got back to Zimpeto, we hugged our children. We had expected people to scatter, but no one had left. We held the most beautiful worship service I have ever experienced. God had saved our children’s lives, and we were thanking Him for our very lives. Then we went out and ministered to the families around the base who had lost their homes. We took in three orphans who had lost their father to tuberculosis and now their mother to the missiles. We looked into the eyes of the mother who had lost her child, and we drank the cup of joy and suffering.

God says to you today, “Finish your assignment.” However much you think you should be somewhere else, and however bad it gets, finish. He who began a good work in you will be faithful.

Excerpted from Reckless Devotion by Heidi & Rolland Baker, Copyright © 2014, Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used with permission.