Return To Crossing, Balagtas, 14.8489, 120.9051

I cannot fully explain it, yet there remained within me a quiet feeling that I must return unto this place today. On the former occasion I had made excuse and withheld the sowing of the Word, though afterward my conscience merely slept on it. There lingered upon my heart the sense that obedience had been delayed through fear and hesitation.

Today I was constrained once more to go unto that place, yet this time the Lord showed me a quiet kindness through my wife, who graciously offered to accompany me. By her presence there was granted unto my heart a measure of calm which I had not known on former occasions. The usual burden of anxiety that so often oppressed me whenever I ventured out alone seemed greatly diminished, as though a gentle hand had lightened the load I carried within. And so the journey which once felt heavy and fearful was softened by the grace of shared fellowship, and I gave thanks unto God for the comfort He so kindly provided.

There seemed to abide in that place a certain air of resistance, difficult to describe yet plainly felt. My wife herself discerned the same heaviness of spirit, which served only to confirm what I had perceived before. And so I was reminded that the labor of sowing is not always attended with ease or welcome, for the ground most in need of seed is often the hardest and most unwilling to receive it.

We carried with us today a considerable number of gospel tracts as we commonly do when doing public ministry. Yet many passed by unwilling to receive them, avoiding the outstretched hand and casting upon us looks mingled with curiosity and annoyance. There was little openness, and the hearts of many seemed already wearied before a word had even been spoken.

Yet I could not altogether fault them for such a response. In these times there are many who cloak themselves in the appearance of religion while seeking gain from men, troubling the people with empty practices and burdensome requests. Certain groups have gone forth handing out envelopes and soliciting money under the guise of spiritual ministry, so that many have grown suspicious of all who publicly labor in the name of God. Thus those who sincerely desire only to sow the Word are often reckoned among the same company and received with equal distrust.

By the close of the day, only a few tracts remained in our hands, for most had at last been received and taken by those whom Providence brought before us. And I was made to consider that the Lord Himself appoints both the messenger and the hearer in their proper hour. We were not called to force the seed into unwilling hands, but simply to wait patiently upon God until those ordained to receive it came in His timing.

Thus the work required not merely speech, but quiet dependence and perseverance. There were long moments wherein little seemed to happen, yet even these silences were under the government of God. The servant sows, but the Lord alone prepares the soil and directs the outcome. We do not place our confidence in outward signs of success, as though immediate conversions or favorable responses were the measure of faithful ministry. Such things belong unto the secret counsel of God. Yet we trust that His Word shall not return void. Whether those who received the tract believe unto salvation, reject it unto hardness, or keep it hidden away until some appointed season of awakening, still the truth of God stands justified. For the Lord is vindicated both in the mercy He shows and in the judgment He renders, and His Word shall bear witness unto every soul that encounters it.

The marketplaces are ever filled with the noise and movement of men, and for this cause they have become unto us a favored field for the public proclamation of the Word. The multitudes pass continually to and fro, occupied with their errands, their labors, and the daily cares of this present life. Many scarcely pause, but hasten onward, their minds fixed upon earthly concerns. Yet among them are those who stay long enough to hear.

Most attentive of all are often the vendors who keep watch over their stalls, for their hands are occupied while their ears remain free to receive what is spoken. Some of the patrons look down on the preaching with disdain; others laugh among themselves or mock openly, esteeming the message as foolishness. Such responses are not strange, for the natural heart ever despises the things of God.

Yet even amidst the noise, the indifference, and the scorn, there are always some who listen with earnest attention. Hidden within the crowd are souls carrying unseen burdens, hearts wearied by sorrow, fear, guilt, or quiet despair. There are those searching, though they scarcely know for what; those passing through afflictions appointed by Providence to break up the fallow ground of the heart. And oftentimes it is through such wounds and inward troubles that the Lord draws men unto the preaching of the hope found in Christ Jesus.

Thus the preacher must not be discouraged by the many who pass by unmoved, for he knows not which soul the Lord hath prepared that very day to hear the Word with trembling and need.