There is a story in 2Kings 3 about the king of Moab rebelling against Joram, king of Israel. King Joram

calls Jehoshaphat king of Judah to go with him to fight against the king of Moab. They set out along with the king of Edom and after 7 days of what the scriptures call a “round about march in the desert”, they have run out of water for themselves and their animals. They decide to seek the council of Elisha because Jehoshaphat says the word of the Lord is with him. Elisha instructs them to make the valley full of ditches. He tells them that even though they will not see rain the valley will be filled with water and they and their animals will drink. Then he says to them, “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.” (vs. 18)

Several years ago, in the beginning of our ministry, the Lord spoke to my husband and me told us that we were in a hard place but it wasn’t what we thought because nothing is hard for him. At the time things were very hard and I was very focused on the circumstances around me. I began to ask myself this question. If the hard place is not what I think then what is it? I asked the Lord to show me.

We live in a very instant society and we like answers right away but God enjoys the journey of our lives. In the year that followed,  I learned that the hard places were in me. Church planting is a road loaded with challenging circumstances. Where will the people come from? How do we reach them? Will we have enough money? Do I have what it takes to do this? Will we survive this? It can at times feel like we are in a very hard place just like the kings were in a hard place in the desert. But the truth was and still is—that these are easy things in the eyes of the Lord. Just like the water in the desert, you could go to church on Sunday and 2000 people could be waiting to get in the door and God would not have even broken a sweat.  I think we forget sometimes just how powerful our God is.

We also forget just how loving He is and how important to Him we are. That’s why He allows circumstances in our lives that will expose the hard places inside. Our freedom in Christ is as important to Him as the freedom of the community to which He has sent us. You are not just the tool in His hand, you are the apple of His eye.

As this truth became a reality in my life I began to see His intentionality towards me. I began looking at my mindset as I walked in my circumstances. As I let Him renew my mind he set me free from the fear of failure and lack. He upgraded my trust and faith and completely redefined success and strategy for both my husband and me.

As I look back on the last few years I am overwhelmed. I am so grateful for my circumstances and the hard places in my heart and mind from which He has freed me. The real challenge in church planting

is not overcoming our circumstances but overcoming ourselves. Our circumstances are after all, an

easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.

The A Hard Place and an Easy Thing by Women in Church Planting, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.