Malaria, Caloocan. Day Ten. 14.7695, 121.0793

The night before, the thought of this place was fixed firmly in my mind. Caloocan was not part of my itinerary, yet by morning I felt a settled necessity to go there. The journey to Malaria and back was some forty-three kilometers; and though I could not then see the purpose for such a path, I committed my steps to the Lord's certain leading.

Upon arriving, I found the road was closed off, and the way blocked by a great throng of people filling the street. I had at first supposed that a protest had broken out, for the streets were filled with a restless energy that suggested a rally. Yet, I learned that it was the hour for the parents of the town to fetch their children from school. The timing was not the product of chance, but the precision of a Master who is never early and never late. At the very moment the crowd was most dense, the way was opened for the Word to be sown. Truly, the Lord who ordains the end also perfectly arranges the means, turning even a common school-gate into a door of opportunity. 

It has been rare in my journey to find a place where the harvest felt so ready or the hearts of the people so open. Standing there in the middle of that crowd, I finally understood why the Lord had led me to this ground. Truly, we may plan our paths, but it is the Lord who directs our steps. I was not met with a small or passing audience; instead, I saw the faces of many who stayed to hear the message from its very beginning to its final plea. In other places, I have felt the weight of hostility—a clear sense that I was not welcome—but here, the air was different. I felt no such shadow. It was as if the Master had gone before me to quiet the crowd and prepare a path for His Word to be heard in peace.

For the space of an hour, I stood as a herald before the people, setting before them the solemn reality of their condition. I sought to place each soul where it truly stands—as a convicted felon before the bar of a Holy God. There is no remedy for the heart that remains proud; salvation is an offer extended only to those who will take their place as helpless criminals, acknowledging the just weight of their own condemnation. Yet, in that very place of brokenness, I proclaimed the infinite mercy of God in Christ Jesus. To all who would call upon His name, there is a complete pardon for every offense—a washing away of guilt through the imputation of His perfect righteousness. It is a work that does not leave the man as he was, but fashions him into a new creature, possessed of a life of power and kept unto the end by the indwelling Spirit of God.

I have of late meditated upon the figure of Eliezer, that obedient servant of Abraham, who was sent upon a task far greater than his own understanding. He was a man led by the hand of God, and his petition was granted because it was aligned with the grand design of the Most High—to preserve that sacred line which would, in the fullness of time, bring forth the Savior of the world.

The Lord hath purposed from eternity to be the God of His chosen people, though they remain for a season lost amidst the vast sea of the nations. As Eliezer sought the bride for the son of his master, so am I tasked to proclaim the Gospel to all within my reach, knowing that it is the Lord alone who does the calling. Every prayer I have offered—that the Spirit might descend mightily through the preaching of the Word—is a prayer that hath been, is being, and shall surely be answered. Such a plea cannot fail, for it is in perfect harmony with the divine will: that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall one day fill the earth, even as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

As I began packing my equipment away, one of the two officials who had stood beside me throughout the hour—having heard the full weight of the pleading—came by to thank me saying, 'Do come back again.' It is a mercy to find that where one expects the resistance of the world, he instead finds an open door. I received their words not as a mere human kindness, but as a sign of the Master’s favor upon the ground that had been sown. Whether my feet shall tread those streets again rests entirely within the counsel of the Most High; yet I depart with the assurance that the Word was not only heard but harbored. Lord willing, the seed that fell this day shall yet bring forth a harvest that redounds to His eternal glory.

As I survey the vast map of the ministry before me, I am struck by a quiet and grounding truth: I am called to do only that which has been assigned to me—no more, and certainly no less. To the natural eye, the task appears far too great for any one man to bear; yet, what a weight of glory would return to the Lord if every professing believer were to walk in like obedience.

If each soul redeemed by Christ were to go forth and spread the good news of His ransom, the very earth would soon be saturated with His grace. We must never despise the day of small things, for the stateliest of trees find their beginning in the humblest of seeds. Our part is but to sow in faith, resting in the assurance that it is the Lord who giveth the increase, and that no labor offered in His name shall ever be in vain.