From Devotions for the Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley
He slowly turned his eyes to explore each of our faces; then he began to speak, deliberate and restrained. In the next few minutes he revealed an astonishing addition to my understanding of who he was.
“When I arrived at my first church,” he began, “weeds had taken the place over. The building was in shambles. Five pastors had come and gone in three years. No one in the community had any confidence that I would be any different, so no one come to worship.
“My wife and I patched and painted and replaced the broken windows. Over time we restored the church building to a functional state. I made calls around the community, but still no one seemed the least bit interested.
“So, not know exactly what to do, I decided to prepare and preach my sermons as if the place was full. Every Sunday morning I stepped into the pulpit and preached my best sermons to empty pews – completely empty pews except for my wife. Every Sunday for three years I preached as though the place was packed, but in reality it was still emplty.
“Finally, after three strained years, God gave us one family. He became our Sunday School superintendent – his kids were the only ones we had in Sunday School. Slowly, over the next few months, however God began to bless. He rewarded my faithfulness all those years. My preaching to an empty church may not have been smart, but it was faithful; I was patient, and I perservered” (page 9-10)
All I can say is Amen.
And ask, how many of us would have quit the first month, first year, second year or even the third year. What if the ministry the Lord has provided us did not show fruit for 3 years? Would we persevere, would we be patient and wait on the Lord?
